Beehive History, Volume 20, 1994

Utah's Constitution b u

In May 1895, following the successful campaign to include universal suffrage in the Utah State Constitution, national and local suffrage leaders posed for this photograph. Front row, left to right: Zina D. H. Young, Anna Howard Shaw, Susan B. Anthony, Sarah M. Kimball, and Lyle Meredith Stansbury (Denver). Second row, left to right: Mary C. C. Bradford (Denver), Margaret A. Caine, Electa Bullock, Martha Hughes Cannon, Phoebe Y. Beattie, Emily S. Richards, Emmeline B. Wells, Rebecca M. Little, and Augusta W. Grant.

USHS collections.

Unity, Victory, DiscordThe Struggle to Achieve Woman Suffrage

BY LOLA VAN WAGENEN At two in the morning, the Central Pacific train pulled into the Salt Lake City station.

Suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony and her coworker Anna Howard Shaw remained in their sleeper until seven. Stepping outside, they were greeted by scores of woman suffragists, Mormon and non-Mormon, adorned in their symbolic yellow and waving white handkerchiefs. Utah's suffragists were i n a festive mood: only days before they had succeeded in adding woman suffrage to the proposed state constitution. Anthony's arrival on May 12, 1895, was a "red-letter day in the history of the .. Territory," according to the Woman's Exponent, and marked the beginning of a three-day celeI

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The appearance of both Mormon and non Mormon women at the train depot. and as speak ers on the same platform in the days that followed indicated the changing relations among Utah's politically active women. In fact, by ch cooperation was no longer new. The first joint effort of Mormon and non-Mormon

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women may have been a day nursery and orphan home in Salt Lake City that national suffrage leaders visited in 1888. Utah's kindergarten and sericulture movements also drew the two groups of women together. Consequently, many active non-Mormon women-Emma J. McVicker, Lillie R. Pardee, Corinne Allen, and Isabella E. Bennett-also worked with Mormon suffragists to reclaim the vote Utah women had lost in 1887 with passage of the EdmundsTucker Act. Although the Woodruff Manifesto of 1890 did not erase problems among Utah's activist women, it did result in a new twist: conflicts surfaced among Mormon women. The first problem concerned the old issue of representation among national suffragists. Because statehood meant political power, Mormon suffragists understood that their representation in Washington, D.C., had significant political implications. Who was best qualified to represent them became a source of internal contention.

Dissatisfaction over the way Mormon representatives had been selected to attend national suffrage association meetings surfaced in the fall of 1890. Ernmeline B. Wells noted in her

diary that some women were "greatly annoyed" over the question and believed "something ought to be done." The central issue seems to have been the monogamist-only strategy that discouraged Mormon polygamists like Wells from representing the territory. As the 1891 meeting of the National Council of Women, sponsored by the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and NAWSA's own annual convention drew near, Mormon suffragists debated the topic endlessly.

The conflict continued for so long that the sisters sought an "expression" on the matter from President Wilford Woodruff and other Mormon leaders. Finally, the women decided that Wells would attend the meetings as a delegate-at-large rather than as a representative of any specific organization. She found this solution acceptable, but the process had revealed differences both in style and substance among Mormon women. It also confirmed the ongoing role that the male hierarchy played in issues affecting Mormon women.

The conflict over the way representatives to the meetings of national suffragists were chosen exposed fundamental questions over leadership, policy-making, and the role of the LDS

church in the territorial woman suffrage movement. These issues became increasingly critical as the likelihood of statehood grew and as the resolve of Mormon women to regain suffrage intensified after a federal Amnesty Act in 1893 restored the vote to polygamist men but not women. By that fall the need for more effective woman suffrage leadership was clear.

Despite their successful efforts to stimulate organization at a grass-roots level, the Utah

the territorial delegate to Congress, John T. Caine, was chosen for reasons of expediency rather than for her leadership skills. She was followed by Sarah Kimball, one of the acknowledged foremothers of woman suffrage in the territory. But at age 75, the once-powerful woman was "no longer able to exert aggressive leadership." When Gmball resigned in October 1893 Mormon suffragists seem to have lost the stabilizing power represented by her authority.

At first the change of leadership proceeded in an orderly fashion. Although Emily Richards had served as Kimball's first vice-president, Emmeline B. Wells was nominated and sustained as the new president of the UWSA. In the fall of 1894, however, when Wells was reelected, Ellen B. Ferguson challenged the legality of the proceeding. Her written protest was signed by other women, including Richards who was also Wells's first vice-president.

Ferguson's action apparently came in retaliation for Wells's unsuccessful attempt to block her nomination for presidency of the Salt Lake County Woman Suffrage Association.

The conflict over the leadership of Utah's suffragists exposed old wounds and created new ones. The first appearance of hard feelings between Wells and Ferguson followed their joint efforts in 1886 to prevent passage of the Edmunds-Tucker bill. Six months later, Ferguson claimed Wells was not speakmg to her after discovering that Ferguson's report to the "presidency" had gone in "ahead of hers."

Competitive feelings in the sisterhood were not new, and most likely Wells's monopoly of the Mormon women's information network as editor of the Woman's Exponent, so irksome to some suffragists like Charlotte Godbe Kirby, bothered other women as well. Like many

woman suffrage leaders, neither Ferguson nor Wells was a model of humility, and the rivalry that surfaced was "predictable," according to some.

The depth of the internal conflicts among Mormon suffragists became apparent shortly before the Utah Constitutional Convention convened in March 1895. Several members of the Utah Woman Suffrage Association proposed forming a new woman suffrage "le,ague." Wells wrote the president of the Beaver County Woman Suffrage Association that these "unwise women" would "push the Association to the extreme and antagonize all the men." She warned that they "must not get control," for if they did "we shall not accomplish what we wish." If the leaders of the proposed league began soliciting the participation of county associations, Wells cautioned, "you must be on your guard because they are very able women and members in the church." Who these "unwise" sisters were is not clear, but their movement demonstrates that the conflict among Mormon suffragists was more substantial than simply personal differences between Wells and Emily Richards or Ellen Ferguson.

While Mormon suffragists were wrangling among themselves, Congress passed Utah's Enabling Act in July 1894. That event signaled that statehood was a realistic goal at last.

National suffragists anticipated the event eagerly. Susan B. Anthony immediately wrote Wells, urging her to secure woman suffrage as part of the new state constitution as women had done in Wyoming. She warned Wells not to accept any other tactic, such as a separate women suffrage referendum, which would be far easier for opponents to attack.

Despite thelr internal problems, Utah's suffragists needed no prodding to work on regaining the vote. A month before the Constitutional Convention convened territorial suffragists had established effective woman suffrage organizations in 19 out of Utah's then 27 counties.

Many of these undertook grass-roots educational and political activities and also lobbied their local convention delegates. Wells optimistically asserted that by securing the platform support of both Republicans and Democrats, their delegates were "practically pledging themselves (in a way) to work for woman suffrage in the State Convention."

On the eve of the convention Mormon suffragists thus had every reason to feel confident.

They had the support of the leading men in the church, they had effective local organizations, they had continued to work well with nonMormon suffragists, and they had bipartisan support for woman suffrage. Although some individual delegates were known to oppose woman suffrage, most suffragists fully expected their measure to sail through the convention.

That assessment does not appear to have been unrealistic. Even the Salt Lake Tribune reported that delegates to the Constitutional Convention "manifested" a "strong sentiment'' in favor of woman suffrage.

Instead, woman suffrage became the most hotly debated issue of the Constitutional

Brigham H. Roberts

Convention. To the distress of Mormon sunragists, the opposition was led by one of their own, B. H. Roberts, a renown orator, newspaperman, and politician. Although his objections to woman suffrage were known, no one had anticipated that he would throw his considerable talent so vigorously against the measure. He did not discuss his philosophic objections, although he did emphasize his belief that women should not lower themselves into the political arena.

Instead, his argument was grounded in expediency. Underscoring Utah's history of failed statehood attempts, he urged woman suffragists to abandon their own cause in the interests of all.

Roberts's strong opposition not only shocked Mormon suffragists but also took his brethren by surprise. LDS leaders discussed the issue in detail, evoking a full range of opinions.

Because there was a "lack of union on the subject" among church leaders, they were left "to do as they desired."

But Roberts's arguments breathed new life into the moribund anti-woman suffrage camp.

The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce called a meeting after his speech and adopted a resolution asking for a separate woman suffrage referendum. Roberts's speech also helped those woman suffragists who supported a separate suffrage submission. Primarily non-Mormons, they called a meeting of those "who do not hold suffrage above statehood" with Roberts as the featured speaker to a standing-room-only audience. They too passed a separate submission resolution but included a clause that guaranteed women the chance to vote on the measure.

Overnight each faction launched a petition drive to convince the convention of the popular support behind its position. The final tally reported by the Salt Lake Tribune was 24,801 signatures for inclusion of woman suffrage in the constitution and 15,366 in favor of a separate submission.

Still, many delegates remained defenders of woman suffrage. Emily Richards's husband, Franklin S., and historian Orson F. Whitney each attacked Roberts's expediency argument, and they defended the principle of woman suffrage as well. Richards stated that he would rather remain in "territorial vassalage" until the time came "when all can stand side b i side on the broad platform of human equality, of equal

E. . ..., - . . ..- ..-. - _ ... .- ..- . ..- _ . -. .- . . .../in S. Richards, a delegate to the Constitutional

Convention, both worked diligently to secure women's voting rights. USHS collections.

rights, and of equal capacity." On April 18, 1895, woman suffrage passed its final test in the Constitutional Convention by a large majority.

Susan Anthony's visit to Utah in 1895 proceeded without a hitch. On Sunday, May 12, an interdenominational church service was held.

The following days were devoted to an InterMountain Woman Suffrage conference, a meeting with the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and a series of social gatherings. At the suffrage conference, Mormons and nonMormons, polygamists and monogamists, men and women shared their hopes for the equality of women in the new state and reminisced over the history of woman suffrage in the territory.

The lofty sentiments expressed during the victory celebration did not prevent further discord among Mormon women, however. New conflicts surfaced quickly once Utah's woman suffragists began engaging in party politics.

A central issue related to the ambiguous wording of the Enabling Act, which stated that all "qualified voters" could vote on the constitution; qualified, of course, excluded women.

Still, whether women could vote for state officers was unclear. At the close of the Constitutional Convention, Franklin S. Richards attempted to clarify the issue by securing women's right to vote in the ratification election, but his measure was defeated. As the

question worked its way through the territorial courts the issue became a matter of partisan debate.

Unfortunately, from the standpoint of unity among woman suffragists the Democrats and Republicans initially took different stances on the issue. Like Richards, many Democrats believed that women could and should vote in the November election. By June the Democrats had initiated a serious effort to bring women into the party, welcoming their full participation in all aspects of the campaign on an equal basis with men, including the nominating convention.

Over the next few weeks, such well-known Mormon women as Emily Richards, Ellen Ferguson, Romania Pratt, Zina D. H. Young, and Bathsheba Smith all joined the Democrats.

In fact, by July so many suffragists had joined their ranks that women comprised one-third of the audience at the Democrats' annual convention.

Once the Democrats began seeking women's participation, the Republicans d ~ dnot lag behind. In early July, Emmeline Wells declared herself a convert to Republicanism-a decision apparently made after long discussions with many of her non-Mormon suffragist friends who had campaigned to regain the vote.

Sarah Kimball and other Mormon women also joined the Republicans, but initially, nonMormon suffragists appear to have outnumbered their Mormon counterparts as Republicans.

The Republican women, unlike their Democratic sisters, began organizing separate Republican women's clubs throughout the territory. Soon, Emmeline Wells and Jennie Froiseth, formerly an ardent supporter of a separate referendum on suffrage and prominent opponent of polygamy, were working together as Republican organizers. Because Republican women had less support from their male colleagues, they drew together for mutual support, which helped soothe old wounds.

In August 1895 a district court ruled that women could vote in the November ratification election and for state officers, vindicating the Democrats. Although the case was immediately appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, the Republicans were convinced the Supreme Court would affirm the lower court, so they changed their position. The change was fortunate for

Republican women because it came just as the party was meeting to nominate state officers.

As a result, women were nominated for state offices: Emmeline Wells for the House, Lillie Pardee for the Senate, and Emma McVicker for an educational post.

Although the Republican's were the first to nominate women, the Democrats were also fully expected to nominate women. Then the Supreme Court threw them all a curve-it overturned the district court's ruling. Women were not to vote either for ratification of the constitution or for state officers. Given this finding, the Democratic chairman determined that women were ineligible for office. That left women candidates only on the Republican slate.

The twists and turns of partisan policies toward women further fueled antagonisms among them. Caught up in the ever-changing stance of both parties, women suffragists launched attacks and counterattacks, each side trying to portray its party as the true champion of women. Emily Richards and Emmeline Wells soon went head to head on the printed page. In August, Wells published, "The Republican Catechism Criticized and Amended for the Benefit of the Women of Utah." Hearing that Wells was distributing her "catechism" from the office of the Woman's Exponent, Richards responded with her own four-part series published by the Salt Lake Herald between August 30 and October 7,1895.

While Richards's series was appearing in the press, support within the Republican party for its women candidates began to deteriorate.

Before long both Pardee and McVicker had withdrawn their names. A very defensive Emmeline Wells remained the lone woman on the ticket. Unfortunately, at the time the other women withdrew, Richards's series was articulating the heart of her rebuttal, and her criticism turned personal. In trying to refute Wells's claim that Democratic governor Caleb W. West did not support equality for women, Richards argued that his reluctance to appoint women to specific jobs had been a result of his desire to act within the limits of the law. She cited the resignation of "Mrs. Pardee and Mrs. McVicker" as being a "timely answer" to the "insinuation" of Wells's criticisms. The "implication" was that Emmeline Wells, too, should resign. Ultimately, she did but she was unhap-

py about it.

In November the new constitution was ratified by a five-to-one margin. Neither the presence of the woman suffrage clause nor the bitterness of the partisan political battles ever seriously endangered its passage. The Republicans swept the state offices, the election proving, according to some historians, that Mormons found it easier to vote for non-Mormons when they represented national parties.

Given the wide margin of the statehood referendum, few doubted that President Grover Cleveland would sign the statehood proclamation. Anticipating that joyous event as 1895 came to a close, Utah's woman suffragists met to elect their delegates to the 1896 NAWSA convention. Never had the opportunity to unite with their sister suffragists been viewed with more anticipation. Yet only four delegates attended the convention: Emily Richards, Sarah Boyer, Mary E. Gillmer, and Corinne Allen.

Gone were the days when the LDS church or the Relief Society could foot the bill for Mormon women to travel to the East. The day the delegation left for Washington, Wells confessed she could "scarcely believe" that she was not going. Apparently, she was unable to pay her own way.

The NAWSA convention set aside an evening to honor the new state and add a "Third Star" to the woman suffrage flag. Adding Utah's achievement to that of Wyoming and Colorado, Anthony claimed, completed "a trinity of true republics at the summit of the Rockies."

During her address Emily Richards issued an interesting caveat. Because in the final hours of the Constitutional Convention the "opposition crumbled away," she stated, it would be "difficult for the future historian to show from the record how deeply the woman's cause was imperiled." She cited the "liquor interests" as forming the nucleus of opposition to woman suffrage around which other "diversified forms of antagonism" gathered. Certainly the sheer number of signatures gathered in opposition to woman suffrage suggests an organized effort.

In addition, the LDS hierarchy held various opinions on the question; most likely Richards knew the leading brethren were not united in their defense.

For Utah's suffragists the addition of the

Utah's Constitution Was Framed in Salt Lake City and County Building

BY JOHN S. MCCORMICK

Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman state senator in the United States.

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"Third Star" to the woman suffrage flag in 1896 was not the final achievement of the year. In the November election Martha Hughes Cannon, a doctor, became the first woman state senator in the United States.

After 1896 Utah's politically active women continued to engage in partisan politics, and a small number continued to win elective office.

But the extraordinary era of the woman suffrage campaign in Utah was the zenith of political activism among women.

Once it became clear to Utah's political parties that despite the suffragists' successes prejudices against women had not evaporated, Utah's male politicians became increasingly disinterested in supporting women as candidates or tapping their skills for party leadership roles. Although they were enfranchised, Utah's women, no less than the men, were not ready to vote as a body for women. As Utah entered mainstream American politics its men grew less and less willing to veer from national political norms.

Dr. Van Wagenen lives in Charlotte, Vermont. This article is based on material in her doctoral dissertation, "Sister-Wives and Suffragists: Polygamy and the Politics of Woman Suffrage, 1870- 1896" (New York University, 1994).

Since its dedication 100 years ago on December 28, 1894, the Salt Lake City and County Building has become firmly imbedded in the fabric of the community. In addition to housing the offices of local government, it is linked to important events in Utah's history. The convention that drew up the Utah State Constitution met in it. State government used the building from 1896 until 1915 when the State Capitol was finished. It housed the first Salt Lake City Public Library. The murder trial of Joe Hill, labor radical and member of the Industrial Workers of the World, which drew national and international attention, was held in it in 1914. During the Great Depression when Utah's unemployment rate registered as high as 36 percent, protest rallies drew several thousand to the building's grounds. Visiting Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft spoke from its steps. It was also a tourist attraction from the first. People eagerly climbed its tower for the magnificent view. In June 1895 city and county officials hired George Lindell, a young African American, to supervise excursions to the tower and "to work for tips," but "with instructions that no one need give him any tips for showing the clock and the landscape in general unless they felt like it."

The Salt Lake City and County Building was constructed on Washington Square between 1891 and 1894 at a cost of more than $900,000.

The architectural firm of Monheim, Bird, and Proudfoot designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style made popular in the late nineteenth century by Henry Hobson Richardson. Behind these bare facts lies a fascinating story.

City and county officials first began to talk about building a combined city hall and county courthouse in the late 1880s. Each occupied relatively small separate structures. The Salt Lake City Hall at 120 East First South was a two-story building, sixty feet square, erected

during 1864-65 of sandstone from Red Butte Canyon east of the city. Its designer, William H. Folsom, was one of Utah's most important early architects. In addition to serving the city, the building periodically housed the territorial legislature, and the 1872 and 1882 Constitutional Conventions were held there. The Salt Lake County Courthouse, 268 West Second South, was designed by Mormon church architect Truman 0. Angell, Sr. Completed in 1861, this two-story building was about the same size as City Hall. By the late 1880s both buildings had become too small to house local government in the fast-growing city and county.

In July 1889 city and county officials agreed to construct what was then and for several years afterward called the "Joint Building."

A building committee selected a site for the new structure on the southwest corner of First South and Second East. A few weeks later, however, they changed their minds and chose a site near City Hall on the southwest corner of First South and State Street. An architectural competition for the building's design drew five contestants with C. E. Apponyi submitting the winning plan. No drawings of his proposal are known to exist, but the Salt Lake Herald of January 3 , 1890, described it as a "handsome," five-story Romanesque building, 60 feet by 150

feet, with two wings, tile floors, and a cement roof. The estimated cost was $150,000.

Excavation for the foundation began the first week in February 1890, but when new city officials took office they immediately questioned the project and on February 22 ordered all work stopped. The mayor-businessman George M. Scott-and a majority of the new council were members of the Liberal party and were the first non-Mormons elected to public office in Salt Lake City. At that time national political parties did not exist in Utah. Instead there was the anti-Mormon Liberal party and the Mormon church's People's party, both organized in 1870. During the 1890 campaign the Liberal party had attacked the People's party for its decision to construct the Joint Building, calling the project extravagant and unnecessary.

Nevertheless, after three months of controversy, the new administration decided to continue work on the building.

By November 1890 the foundation was in place. Then on November 11 all work stopped when the Joint Committee fired architect Apponyi as superintendent of construction, questioning his ability to do the job. Moreover, cost estimates had doubled from $150,000 to $300,000. A bitter debate ensued over whether to complete the building as designed by

Utah photographer Charles R. Savage took this early view of the Salt Lake City and County Building. USHS collections.

Apponyi or commission a new design, and it was divided very much along MormonlnonMormon lines.

Finally, at the end of March 1891, after nearly five months of debate, city and county officials decided to build an entirely new building on an entirely different site-Washington Square. Apparently City Councilman James H. Anderson first suggested this location. It too was controversial with the Deseret News, among others, claiming it was too far from the center of town and had been chosen mainly because some City Council members owned property nearby that would increase in value once the building was constructed.

The Joint Committee remained firm in its decision, however, and announced that a new architectural competition would be held. They advertised the competition locally and in Denver, San Francisco, and Chicago with a brief announcement: "Plans are invited for a Joint City and County Building to be erected in the center of the Eighth Ward [Washington] Square ....The proposed building to have four fronts, three stories, with basement and construction on the plan of what is known as fire combustion. Cost of building complete not to exceed $350,000. All plans to be submitted on or before May 15, 1891. City and County reserve the right to reject any and all plans."

The competition drew 15 responses, among them Monheim, Bird, and Proudfoot, a new Salt Lake firm formed shortly before the competition when Henry Monheim, "the mentor of Salt Lake architects," according to the Salt Lake Tribune, joined with two men who had been in practice together in the Midwest-George Washington Bird and William T. Proudfoot. The firm may have been organized specifically for the City and County Building competition, and on May 25 the committee announced it had chosen their entry as the winning design.

Monheim was born about 1824 in Prussia.

Little is known about his life before 1870 when he came to Utah and settled in Corinne, the transfer point for freight and passengers north to Idaho and Montana from the recently completed transcontinental railroad. He designed several buildings there, including the Corinne Opera House. By July 1872 he had moved to Salt Lake City where he remained until his death on July 30, 1893, eighteen months before

the City and County Building was finished. The Emanuel Kahn House, a striking Queen Anne structure at 678 East South Temple, and the former B'nai Israel Temple at 249 South 400 East are two of Monheim's other designs that remain standing.

Proudfoot, who was born May 2, 1860, near Indianola, Iowa, began working for an architect in Des Moines after graduating from high school. Bird, born in New Jersey on September 1, 1854, was employed by the same architect. In 1882 the two men established their own practice and barnstormed for commissions throughout the Midwest. By 1885 they had moved to Wichita, Kansas, and in the next six years received commissions for nearly 100 buildings. When Wichita's boom years ended in 1891 Bird and Proudfoot moved to Salt Lake City and formed a partnership with Monheim.

In addition to the City and County Building, the firm designed at least 14 homes in Salt Lake, a small factory, and an apartment building. Bird and Proudfoot returned to Des Moines about two years after Monheim's death. They became the principal architects for Iowa's three state university campuses and also designed other public buildings.

To no one's surprise the Joint Committee's selection of Monheim, Bird, and Proudfoot and that firm's winning design both generated considerable controversy. A year later, following the dedication of the building and the laying of its cornerstone, the Salt Lake Herald was still grumbling about it. The newspaper characterized the competition as unfair and called the design "a pretentious fraud."

On September 22, 1891, the Joint Committee selected the construction firm of John H. Bowman, a well-known local contractor, even though his bid of $377,978 was only the third lowest. He had the support of local labor unions and the two lower bidders did not.

By the spring of 1892 some 100 men were regularly at work on the building, and the contractor intended to increase that to between 150 and 200 by mid-May. In hiring, preference was given to married residents of the city and county, although City Councilman William P. O'Meara thought it wrong to discriminate against single men. They were likely to get as hungry as married men, he pointed out, and often had parents or sisters to support.

City and County Building under construction. USHS collections, gift of Paul Anderson.

Unskilled laborers received about $2.25 a day and skilled workers, such as stonecutters, got $4.50. Everyone worked nine hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a half-hour for lunch, five days a week. Labor unions had urged an eight-hour work day on the project, but even nine hours was less than many people worked.

The cornerstone of the building was laid under the supervision of the Masonic Lodge on July 25, 1892, when the walls had been completed to a height of 38 inches. The ceremony began with a parade from City Hall to Washington Square and included Denhalter's Band, Held's Band, policemen and firemen on horseback, Masons and other fraternal organizations, and local, territorial, and federal officials and their invited guests in carriages. Thousands listened to prominent speakers, all of them nonMormons, praise the building as a symbol of a new era marked by the end of Mormon church domination of political affairs and the triumph of civil government.

The building's troubles were not over, however. By the summer of 1893, with the exterior finished and the roof completed, the Panic of 1893 began to take its toll. A nationwide depression that lasted until 1897 created widespread unemployment, and the revenue of both Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County fell, ultimately to nearly half. Construction was halted while officials reviewed the situation. Finally, they decided to go ahead with a reduced work force. Fourteen stained glass windows originally planned for the west facade were eliminated to save money.

Except for minor details the building was finished in November 1894. The first City Council meeting was held in it on November 19, and former council members as well as current ones attended. The Salt Lake City and

County Building was dedicated on December 28. It was open all day to the public for tours, and at 3 p.m. a formal ceremony was held in the City Council Chambers. Wilford Woodruff, president of the Mormon church, gave the opening prayer. Then a group of civil and church dignitaries addressed the gathering. Although their rhetoric was flowery, all recognized an essential point. The process of constructing the building had been a long, expensive, and frustrating one, filled with division and controversy, but the result, as Judge Edward F. Colburn said, was "a magnificent structure" and a "monument to the architects who conceived its plan, a credit to the public officers who directed its construction, and imperishable evidence of the progressive spirit of the citizens who supported it."

The building, which would become a historic and architectural landmark in Salt Lake City, captured people's attention and delighted their imaginations from the beginning. Its appeal lay in a number of things: its size, shape, texture, rich ornamentation, fine interior spaces and workmanship, the relationship of its myriad parts to the whole, and the way it fit into its physical surroundings.

The clock tower rises an estimated 256 feet from ground level to the top of the statue Columbia. The rough-hewn grey sandstone on the exterior came from the Castle Gate-Kyune Junction area of Carbon County. The sixty exterior columns are made of granite. Slate for the roof probably came from Slate Canyon southeast of Provo. Walter Baird and his partner Oswald Lendi did most of the elaborate carving found on the exterior, particularly near the

Laying the cornerstone of the City and County Building on July 25, 1892, with ceremonies conducted by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Utah. USHS collections.

entrances. Indeed, the building seems alive with examples of the stone carver's art, including human faces and figures, gargoyles, animals, monsters, roses, and scrolls. Many carvings depict real people, events, and themes in Utah history. At completion the building contained more than 100 rooms with oak doors, moldings, and wainscotting, and onyx wainscotting in the hallways. Many offices had marble-framed fireplaces.

A local nurseryman, Martin Christophersen, oversaw the landscaping. More than 10,000flowers and shrubs were planted as well as 45 varieties of shade trees, including many rare and imported specimens. These plantings, along with fountains and walkways, gave the building a parklike setting.

About the time of the buildng's completion Utahns elected 107 delegates to a Constitutional Convention. At the invitation of Salt Lake City and County officials it was held in the new building. The convention opened on March 4, 1895, and adjourned nine weeks later on May 8, having completed the final draft of the Utah State Constitution for voters to ratify in November. The convention delegates met in the building's County Civil Courtroom. There was little space for spectators, and the delegates sat at tables with no drawers in which to keep their papers. Following a debate over seating arrangements the convention decided to let delegates age 60 and over choose their seats. Those remaining drew lots for theirs.

When statehood for Utah was finally achieved with the signing of the statehood proclamation by President Grover Cleveland on January 4, 1896, a large steam whistle sounded from the tower of the City and County Building, adding to the din created by shotguns, cannons, bells, fireworks, and shouting.

The City and County Building's service to the state did not end with the Constitutional Convention. The State Legislature held its biennial sessions there. The Salt Lake Tribune described the first one in January 1896: "The Joint Building took on the air of a capitol yesterday, and all day long its spacious corridors echoed to the tread and conversation of groups of politicians, legislators, lobbyists, and officeseekers. The legislative halls were made ready for occupancy, and senators and members were busy preempting desks and getting used to their

quarters." The offices of most state officials, including the governor, were also in the City and County Building until 1915, and according to Gov. William Spry, "Virtually all state business was conducted in it."

By the 1980s, after decades of use and in need of extensive repairs, the City and County Building faced possible demolition.Controversy again swirled around the building as those who wanted the landmark structure restored battled those who favored tearing it down and erecting a new building. Salt Lake City residents apparently loved the old buildmg and opted to restore it as the seat of city government (while county officials decided to build a new county complex at 21st South and State streets and move to it rather than remain in the City and County Building). The $30.3 million project, which began in the summer of 1986, was an enormous undertaking, took three years to complete, and included restoration of the exterior sandstone and the return of several rooms, including the City Council Chambers, to almost their original condition and decor. In addition, it was the first historic building in the world to be retrofitted with a base isolation system to cushion it during an earthquake.

Architects for the project were the Ehrenkrantz Group of San Francisco and Burtch W. Beall, Jr., of Salt Lake City.

The building was reopened with a three-day celebration on April 28-30 that included public tours and special events.

Dr. McCormick is professor of history at Salt Lake Community College. This article is extracted from a book-length manuscript he researched and wrote on the history of the building.

Chairman John Henry Smith Seemed Annoyed "The CHAIRMAN, The trouble about these amendmenis to amendments and substitutes, etc., IS they are simply confusing to this Convention and lead men's attention away from the subject matter.. , and when a vote is taken, half the tlme they have ts be re-read to know what we are voting upon....

Mr THURMAN. Mr. Chairman, I will withdraw my amendment, if my second does not object. .

The CHAIRMAN. Captain Stover's would be in order now, if t is an amendment to the amendment offered by Mr. Strevell.

Mr. STOVER. No, sir; it IS an amendment to the section.

The CHAIRMAN Then it is not in order."

Utah's Unique Declaration of Rights

BY MIRIAM B. MURPHY

The 27 sections of Article I of the 1895 Constitution of the State of Utah present the Declaration of Rights. This listing resembles the rights found in other state constitutions and in the U.S. Constitution, but in some instances the rights granted in this document are unique to the Beehive State.

On March 6, 1895, two days after the Utah Constitutional Convention opened in the Salt Lake City and County Building, the Committee on Standing Committees recommended the formation of 26 committees to oversee particular parts of the constitution-writing process, including an 11-member Committee on Preamble and Declaration of Rights. On March 8 the members of this committee were announced: Heber M. Wells (Salt Lake City), Christen Peter Larsen (Manti), Daniel Thompson (Scipio), Orson F. Whitney (Salt Lake City), William Creer (Spanish Fork), Andrew Kimball (Salt Lake City), Joel Ricks (Salina), Robert W. Heybourne (Cedar City), William Driver (Ogden), Moses Thatcher (Logan), and Theodore B. Lewis (Ogden).

Ten days later, on March 18, Wells presented a draft of the Preamble and Article I to the

delegates. Noting that his committee had worked under a time limit, he expected that their work would be "subjected to the fusillade of a hundred guns, and we have endeavored to construct it with a view to withstanding such bombardment, but, if it does not ...we have this consolation, gentlemen, that like gold in the furnace, it will be purified and improved by the fire." The committee believed that "a constitution should not be a code of laws, but rather the magna charta of our liberties, upon which the laws may be afterwards founded." Nevertheless, Wells said, "If there are rights dear to the people of Utah which we have not enumerated, we hope that you ...will discover and insert them."

Two days after Wells presented the draft Preamble and Declaration of Rights to the convention the Committee of the Whole began a section-by-section review of it lasting through March 26. On April 3 a roll call vote showed 96 delegates approving the amended Declaration of Rights and none opposed, with 11 delegates evidently missing this roll call.

It may seem surprising that a subject so dear to Americans-their rights as free people-could be dealt with so quickly: 10 days to 13

create a draft, 6 days of debate by the Committee of the Whole, and a day for the convention to review and vote on the amended list of rights. But the delegates had a rich variety of resources available, including the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the constitutions of 44 other states. Moreover, many delegates had participated in earlier constitutional conventions. Truly, the constitutional form and its contents were embedded in their consciousness; they did not have to invent them but could shape them to suit Utah's unique needs.

Many sections of Article I have a familiar ring. Section 1, for example, uses phrases found in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights: "All men have the inherent and inalienable right to enjoy and defend their lives and liberties; to acquire, possess and protect property; to worship according to the dictates of their consciences; to assemble peaceably, protest against wrongs, and petition for redress of grievances; to communicate freely their thoughts and opinions, being responsible for the abuse of that right." There are differences as well. First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution are included here, but the Utah delegates also warned that the right to express opinions carries with it a reciprocal responsibility not to abuse others. This idea is embodied in other state constitutions, such as Colorado's, where libel is specifically cited as an abuse of freedom of the press.

Utah's freedom of religion guarantee (Article I, Section 4) differs significantly from similar sections in the constitutions of Idaho and Wyoming. In addition to proclaiming freedom of conscience, the delegates emphasized the break that statehood would make with Utah's theocratic past: "There shall be no union of church and State, nor shall any church dominate the State or interfere with its functions. No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or for the support of any ecclesiastical establishment." The Idaho and Wyoming constitutions contain a warning not found in Utah's-that religious freedom does not excuse individuals from having to swear oaths or make affirmations, nor does it permit acts injurious to public morality, peace, and safety.

Despite mentioning freedom of religion in

Heber M. Wells

Section 1 and detailing it in Section 4, the Utah Constitution includes it again in Article 111 where wording found in the federal Enabling Act, which set Utah on its final path toward statehood, is incorporated: "Perfect toleration of religious sentiment is guaranteed. No inhabitant of this State shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship; but polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited." The Mormon church had abandoned polygamy in 1890 when Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto, but Congress insisted that for Utah to become a state its primary legal document had to include not only toleration of religious diversity but also a total ban against polygamy. Idaho, under no such federal obligation when its constitution was written in 1889, nevertheless viewed the practices of its Mormon minority with suspicion and "forever prohibited" bigamy and PO~Y gamy.

Article X, Section 1, of the Utah Constitution carries the banner of religious freedom forward to the public schools by declaring that they shall "be free from sectarian control."

The lack of public schools free from Mormon church control during much of the territorial period helped to fuel conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons. With statehood on the horizon it was important to guarantee that schools supported by all taxpayers did not promote the religious beliefs of only one segment of the population.

The way the right to bear arms was expressed in Utah's Constitution differs from the federal model. The familiar wording of the Second Amendment is: "A well-regulated rnilitia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Article I, Section 6, of the Utah Constitution originally stated: "The people have the right to bear arms for their security and defense, but the Legislature may regulate the exercise of this right by law."

Idaho's constitution uses an almost identical wording, while Colorado's prohibits the carrying of concealed weapons. In 1984 the Utah State Legislature rewrote this section with more specific detail: "The individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state, as well as for other lawful purposes shall not be infringed; but nothing herein shall prevent the legislature from defining the lawful use of arms." The new wording was approved by voters at the November 1984 general election.

A number of sections in Article I define rights associated with criminal proceedings, including, among others, writs of habeas corpus, due process, warrants, unreasonable searches and seizures, bail, cruel and unusual punishments, and trial by jury. Of these, juries created intense discussion. As originally proposed, Section 10 would have allowed the legislature to set the number of jurors at less than 12 when the case was not a felony, and a twothirds majority rather than a unanimous jury could find a verdict. Although most delegates believed that a jury of 12 and a unanimous verdict should be required in capital cases, in the tradition of common law, opinions varied widely on the size of juries and the need for unanimous verdicts for lesser crimes and in civil cases.

David Evans, a delegate from Weber County, argued at length for smaller juries and majority verdicts: "We have clung to the old idea of twelve men sitting in judgment upon every little controversy which may arise in the district court." Large juries pose a financial burden on the people, he believed. As for requiring unanimous verdicts, he stated, somewhat cynically perhaps: "...We know that a few strongminded, intelligent men upon a jury control the balance of them, and the verdict after all is but

the verdict of a few jurors."

When further criticism of juries surfaced, including charges that jurors could be bought, attorney Charles S. Varian rose to their defense.

Jurors, he said, "coming as they do from all the different walks of life ...have better qualifications than the judge, trained lawyer as he may be, who, in a measure is isolated ...from the people ....I d o not believe the people are corrupt ....So I say as to the intimation that was made...in regard to the purchase of jurors ....it is unfair...it is unjust ...as a rule they are honest, as a rule they are capable, and as a rule ...their judgments are really and truly righteous.. .."

Attorney Franklin S. Richards believed that "the liberties of the citizens would ...be safe in the hands of less than twelve men" and that unanimous verdicts were not necessary. Swayed in part by the economy argument, Samuel Thurman, another attorney and one who would eventually sit on the Utah State Supreme Court, also joined the ranks of those who believed that smaller juries would be just as effective as the old common law jury of 12.

Section 10 in its final amended form reads: "In capital cases the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. In courts of general jurisdiction, except in capital cases, a jury shall consist of eight jurors. In courts of inferior jurisdiction a jury shall consist of four jurors. In criminal cases the verdict shall be unanimous. In civil cases three-fourths of the jurors may find a verdict. A jury in civil cases shall be waived unless demanded."

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Charles S. Varian

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The right to vote and participate in government is protected in several ways. Section 4, for example, provides that "No property qualification shall be required of any person to vote or hold office, except as provided in this Constitution." Delegates were concerned about the possibility of voters who did not pay property taxes voting to raise such taxes. In Article XIV, Section 3, they allowed only those who had paid property taxes to vote on measures that would create a property tax debt in counties, towns, and school districts.

Article IV, though, is the place where elections and suffrage are covered in detail. Section 1, in fact, created the greatest controversy at the Constitutional Convention. It granted Utah women the right to vote that they had lost in 1887 when Congress passed the EdmundsTucker Act. Despite the strong effort led by delegate B. H. Roberts not to include woman suffrage in the Constitution, a large majority of delegates finally voted in favor of it. The wording of Utah's equal rights guarantee is virtually identical to that found in the 1889 Wyoming Constitution: "The rights of citizens of the State of Utah to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. Both male and female citizens of this state shall enjoy equally all civil, political and religious rights and privileges."

As noted earlier, many provisions of the Constitution were designed to protect the rights of those accused of crimes. In 1994 the legislature proposed an addition to the Constitution granting crime victims certain rights, including the right not to be harassed during criminal court proceedings. This measure, ratified by voters at the November general election, is now Section 28 of Article I. Perhaps in years to come additional "rights dear to the people of Utah" will be, as Heber M. Wells suggested in 1895, discovered and inserted into Utah's Constitution.

Mrs. Murphy is associate editor of U t a h Historical Quarterly.

Kane County Delegate Joseph E. Robinson Endorsed Woman Suffrage

".. I am here to vote for woman's rights and woman's suffrage. if my wife cannot stand side by side with me in voting for those who shall govern us, as it is a fundamental principle of our government that those who govern should do so only by the consent of the governed I am w i n g to stay without the galaxy of states."

Delegates from Distant Counties Sacrificed to Attend Convention

BY MIRIAM 6. MURPHY

The 107 delegates elected to the 1895 Constitutional Convention committed two months of their time and drew from a wide range of experiences to ensure its success.

Those from outlying counties had to leave homes, families, and livelihoods in order to serve. Death, illness, and other concerns made these separations even more difficult.

Events at home sometimes required delegates to return. Parley Christiansen of Mayfield, Sanpete County, had left home on March 1 to attend the convention. He arrived "all right," according to his own account, met other delegates, and "stayed during the session in the Wasatch building" on the southeast corner of Main Street and Second South. He attended the opening two days of the convention and took his oath as a member, but on March 6 he received a telegram telling him that his brother Joseph had died. He asked permission to return home for the funeral. By Sunday, March 10, he was back in the capital ready to resume his convention duties on Monday. By May 9, having signed the Constitution, he was on his way home to Mayfield. Nine days later, on May 18, his wife delivered a stillborn daughter.

Christiansen was born in Salt Lake City on December 7, 1857. The following year the family moved to Ephraim where he later engaged in the lumber industry, farming, and stock raising.

He also served as town marshal. On April 21, 1881, he married Dorothea C. Jensen, and they had seven children. Following statehood Christiansen served in the 1899 Legislature and on the Mayfield City Council.

Jasper Robertson of Orangeville, Emery County, also a farmer and stockman, was born on May 8, 1847, in Green County, Illinois. His widowed mother brought her family to Lehi in 1862 and then moved to Fountain Green.

Robertson married Rhoda Ellen Guyman on April 17, 1871; they had 11 children. He served three terms as a justice of the peace in Fountain Green. In 1870 he moved his family to Orangeville, and in 1886 he was named a probate judge for the county by Gov. Caleb W.

Jasper Robertson

Parley Christiansen

West. Like a number of the delegates, Robertson had also served in the 1887 Constitutional Convention.

Robertson had traveled from Orangeville to Salt Lake City and was staying at 253 East First South when he received a telegram, dated March 3, 1895, the day before the convention opened, informing him: "Your son died this morning. Horse [waiting] at Frandsens. Answer immediately." Robertson was not sworn in as a delegate until March 7.

In an April 27 letter to his wife and children Robertson noted that the convention was nearing an end. He expressed concern that "Lottie was sick7' and, worried as any farmer away from his land in springtime would be, said he was "glad to hear that the boys [were] getting along so well with the spring work. I hope they will take pains with the watering."

Abel J. Evans of Lehi was another delegate with family worries. On April 2 he asked "to be excused indefinitely on account of news that I have just received of my mother not being expected to live." His request was granted, but

by April 8 he was back at the convention and took a active part in the proceedings.

Evans, born in Lehi on December 20, 1852, had helped to support his widowed mother and seven brothers and sisters from age 13 by tending to the family farm until 1874. Then he married Louisa Emerline Zimmerman and went into business for himself. He was a member of the Lehi City Council (elected in 1879 and 1881), an alderman (1883 and 1887), mayor (1891), and also a member of the Utah County Court.

Moses Thatcher, who was in ill health and had not wanted to run for delegate, was excused from the convention for a time. He eventually returned and contributed to the Cache delegation's success in promoting continued indepen-

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dence for the Agricultural College in Logan.

(See article beginning on p. 18.)

Edward Partridge, Jr., of Provo stayed at his daughter Harriet's home in Salt Lake City as did delegate Daniel Thompson of Millard who had arranged to board and room with her.

Partridge traveled by train to and from Utah County, but he spent many weekends in the Utah capital where he had both relatives and friends. On March 4, for example, he visited his sister Emily and paid some farm bills. On the evening of March 6 he blessed his grandson Mark Neil Partridge and then "wrote to Sarah concerning the work to be done on the farm at home." On March 22 he was excused from the convention to return to Provo to testify in the probate court as a witness to the will of the late A. 0 . Smoot. During this trip home he also attended to farm business. On April 16 he replied to a letter from Ray about "work and other matters at home." Partridge's journals reveal him as a fully participating member of the convention, but they also express his private concerns.

Born in Independence, Missouri, on June 25, 1833, Partridge came to Utah in 1848 with his widowed mother. In 1854 he married Sarah L. Clayton, and the couple lived in Farmington until 1865. The family moved to Fillmore where Partridge served in many civic posts, including city councilman, recorder, mayor, clerk, and probate judge. In 1874 he was elected to the Territorial Legislature. In the 1880s he moved to Provo as a merchant and also engaged in farming.

Delegates who lived in nearby counties with rail service could and did keep in close touch with their families. On Saturday, March 23, during a discussion of the Bill of Rights, Charles S. Varian noted: "If the gentlemen will cast their eyes over the house they will see that (Continued on p.25)

Edward Partridge, Jr.

Abel J. Evans

"Well done, thou good and faithful servants": Cache County and Statehood

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BY LINDATHATCHER

After the Utah Enabling Act was signed on July 16, 1894, by President Grover Cleveland, Territorial Governor Caleb B. West declared Wednesday, August 1, 1894, as "Utah Day," a time of "general rejoicing for all patriotic citizens of Utah." "Utah Day" was to be a grand celebration with each community planning its own activities. On July 23 the committee arranging Cache County's events sent a letter with instructions to each town, telling them what they were to furnish for the celebration.

This list included: "a small company of horsemen, a number of old pioneers in conveyance, [and] young ladies dressed in white, with sash and rosettes, mounted on horseback to represent the states." They were also to ask the local band to come as well as any other "organized companies" that they could find in their communities to participate. They were to supply flags and banners and each community was also supposed to bring its own food and tables to be set up on the Tabernacle Square in Logan.

The letter emphasized that the upcoming celebration was to be held "without regard to party or creed and hence all banners should be non-partisan, and no party demonstrations of any kind" were to be held. Citizens were to put aside "all sectional, personal, political and religious feeling . . . [so that] all . . . [could] join hands in making the celebration . . . what it should be-a whole-souled, patriotic demonstration."

The day's events began with artillery at sunrise, followed by a procession that formed in front of the courthouse at 9:00 a.m. and was led

by Mayor George W. Thatcher. It included seven bands, the "old pioneers," the young girls dressed in white, the Gentlemen's and Ladies' Bicycle Clubs of Logan with the wheels of their bicycles "tastefully decorated" in "various and fantastic displays of red, white and blue bunting," and a banner that read: "Utah, the Brightest Star of All." The grand assembly, held at 10 a.m. in the grove on Tabernacle Square, opened with the singing of "America." This

was followed by rousing speeches and inspirational songs. Some 11,000 citizens turned out for this event.

Under provisions of the Enabling Act, the next task was for Cache County to select eight delegates to the Constitutional Convention. In order to align Utah with the national political parties, the Liberal and People's parties had been abandoned in Utah in 1891. When the territory divided along national party lines, people hoped that local issues-such as polygamywould be lost in bigger national issues, and that Utah would be attractive to national parties.

Democratic and Republican clubs spread throughout the state and into Cache County in the summer of 1891, and the Jefferson Democratic Club and the Republican Club were formed.

Despite these efforts to organize a twoparty system in Cache County, the voters remained predominantly Democratic, and all Constitutional Convention delegates elected on November 6, 1895, were from that party: Moses Thatcher, William J. Ken, Noble Warrum, Jr., and Charles H. Hart of Logan; I. C. Thoresen, Hyrum; James P. Low, Smithfield; Henry Hughes, Mendon; and William H. Maughan, Wellsville.

The most prominent member of the delegation was LDS Apostle Moses Thatcher, who accepted the nomination reluctantly, due to health problems. H e stated at the local Democratic convention "our delegation . . . [will] not have much to do at the Salt Lake convention but congratulate [delegate to Congress] Joe Rawlins on his brilliant successes and renomination" (Logan Journal, September 12, 1894).

Delegate Biographies Moses Thatcher was born February 2, 1842, near Springfield, in Sangamon County, Illinois, the son of Hezekiah and Alena "Alley" Kitchen Thatcher. In 1843 the family joined the Mormon church and immigrated to the Salt

Lake Valley in 1847. They moved on to the California gold fields in 1849, where they reportedly "amassed a fortune," but returned to Utah in 1857 and eventually settled in Logan in 1859. Moses Thatcher worked in several farnily-owned businesses. He became prominent in the LDS church and was ordained an apostle in April 1879. Running into difficulties with the church General Authorities over his political ambitions, he was dropped from the Quorum of the Twelve on November 19, 1896. Thatcher had served as a delegate to previous Constitutional Conventions and was known as "one of the best informed men in the west upon all matters pertaining to Civil Government."

He died in 1909.

William Jasper Kerr was born November 17, 1863, in Richmond, Utah. He attended the University of Deseret and pursued a teaching career at Brigham Young College and the University of Utah. He served as president of Brigham Young College from 1894 to 1900 and was president of the Agricultural College of Utah from 1900 to 1907, when he moved to Oregon. There he served as president of Oregon State College until 1932 and then as chancellor of the Oregon State System of Higher Education until 1935. He was also a delegate to the 1887 Constitutional Convention. He died in 1947.

Noble Warrum, Jr., was born September 29, 1865, in Hancock County, Indiana. He was

educated at Greenfield High School and De Pauw University, after which he studied law at the University of Michigan. He moved to Logan in 1891, where he practiced law until 1892 when he became editor of the Journal. He eventually moved to Salt Lake City and was an editorial writer for the Salt Lake Herald and later for the Salt Lake Tribune until his retirement in 1950. He is most noted for his books: Utah in the World War (1924) and Utah Since Statehood (1919). He died in 1951.

Henry Hughes was born in Mold, Flintshire, North Wales, in 1825. He imrnigrated to Utah and settled in Mendon in 1862 where he served as LDS bishop from 1869 to 1900.

He also served as mayor of Mendon from 1876 to 1882. He died in 1904.

Ingwald Conrad Thoresen was born May 2, 1852, in Christiana (Oslo) Norway. His family joined the Mormon church and immigrated to Utah in 1863, settling in Hyrum. Thoresen served as mayor of Hyrum, county commissioner, county attorney, and surveyor. He was a member of three Constitutional Conventions and served in the second State Legislature. He was appointed U. S. surveyor general of Utah

by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, a position he held until 1921. In later years he was active in a campaign to secure public pensions for the aged, poor, and blind. He died in 1938.

James P. Low was born in Salt Lake City in 1860 and moved to Cache Valley in 1864 with his parents. He started teaching school at the age of eighteen and in 1879 entered the University of Deseret to complete his education.

He graduated in 1881 and returned to Cache Valley where he continued teaching. In 1884 he entered the mercantile business. He also served as the president of the Smithfield Democratic Society.

Charles Henry Hart was born July 5 , 1866, in Bloomington, Idaho. When he was fourteen years old he entered the printing trade. After finishing public school he entered the University of Deseret, graduating in 1887. He then entered the University of Michigan law school, graduating with an LL.B. degree in 1889. He practiced law in Paris, Idaho, for one year, and then moved to Logan, where he continued his law practice. He was elected county attorney and served as a member of the Legislative Council; he was elected as a judge

in the First Judicial District, serving for nine years. In 1898 he was called as a seventy in the LDS church and later was president of the Canadian Mission. He died in 1934.

William Harrison Maughan was born May 7, 1834, in Alston, England, a son of Peter and Ruth Harrison Maughan. He immigrated to the Utah in 1850 with his family. He first settled in Tooele, but moved to Cache County in 1856 as one of its first settlers. He helped settle Wellsville of which he was the first bishop, a position which he held for over forty years. He was also elected as the first mayor of Wellsville in 1866 and served in three Constitutional Conventions. He died in 1905.

At the Convention The Constitutional Convention convened on March 4, 1895, in Salt Lake City. Each member received his committee assignments.

Cache County's delegates were Democrats in a Republican-controlled convention. On March 9, 1895 the Journal (which had a Democratic slant) complained that: Down in Oklahoma the other day the republican majority organized the legislature to suit themselves just as the republicans of Utah have organized the Constitutional Convention.

But the Oklahoma republicans were insolent enough to use the legislative halls for caucus meetings.

We hope that the republican majority in the Constitutional Convention will be a little considerate of the whole people. The minority has rights guaranteed them and do not propose to submit to acts of tyranny. The majority must bear this in mind.

In addition the Journal noted that the convention had started slowly, and it was not impressed with its Republican president, John Henry Smith, as he "is not what republicans themselves call a success as a presiding officer.

He joins heartily in any laugh that may be raised and loses track of the business on hand completely. He is good natured, however and does the best he can."

The Cache delegation sewed on the following committees: Moses Thatcher was appointed to the preamble and declaration of rights; revenue, taxation, and public debt; ordinance; and

compilation and arrangement committees. Kerr was appointed to the committee to name the standing committee and to the legislative; education and school lands; revenue, taxation, and public debt; engrossment and enrollment; and address committees. Warrum served on the judiciary and the municipal corporations committees. Hughes was appointed to the federal relations and the water rights and irrigation committees. Maughan was named to the apportionment and boundary and the water rights and irrigation committees. Thoresen was appointed to the salaries of public officials; taxation, revenue, and public debt; and the compilation and arrangement committees. Low served on the public buildings and state institutions and the public lands committees. Hart worked on the rules; legislative; corporations; and printing committees.

The Cache delegates took an active role in the convention and made numerous proposals.

Hart, for example, offered a proposition regarding the distribution of powers in the legislative department. Warrum presented a proposition on the judiciary, providing for a supreme court of three judges with terms of six years and one elected every two years. He also proposed that public lands be controlled by three comrnissioners. Thoresen introduced a proposition on public corporations which included prohibiting the legislature from passing special laws regarding corporations-all laws were to be general and

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uniform in application. And according to - the March 19 issue of the Journal, Thoresen also proposed "giving woman suffrage and shutting out from its enjoyment bribers, heelers and gamblers on the result." Warrum introduced the pioneer proposition on finance, which, after giving the state the power to tax and making the usual exemptions, prohibits duplicate taxation of the same property. Kerr offered a comprehensive proposition on education that provided for a free, uniform system of education for all persons between the ages of 6 and 21. One of Low's propositions provided that the state's executive branch shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each holding office for four years.

On March 18 Moses Thatcher sent a letter to President John Henry Smith stating that because of sickness he was unable to attend the convention:

Having recently undergone a somewhat painful surgical operation, Z jind that improper haste in resuming work has produced unfavorable results, compelling me now to keep quiet, absolute rest, and treatment for a few days, and possibly a longer period.

Will you therefore, it [sic] my behalf kindly make to the honorable members of this Convention the necessary explanation required by the rules governing such matters. Z shall

Main Street in Logan from Art Work of Utah, 1896. USHS collections.

expect no compensation for the period covering my absence. . . .

In the interest of committees with which you did me the honor of associating my name, I respectfully suggest the appointment of others able and qual@ed to do their.full share o f the work-a duty under other circumstances I should feel it a pleasure to perform. Trusting that the utmost harmony and fraternal feeling may attend all deliberations of the Convention over which you have the honor of presiding, and that partisanship, local demands, and individual interests may be subordinated to the general welfare, so that a Constitution may be drafted and approved, no provision of which shall ever bring a blush of shame or feeling of regret to us or our children, and one which as a whole the voters of Utah may adopt by an overwhelming majority.

If true patriotism, a high regard for the right of the governed, sympathy for the laboring masses and producing classes, united with equity, justice, and economy in all public expenditures, shall be made basic principles upon which the fundamental law of the new State shall forever rest, that [sic] a happy result must surely follow, and the people who sent, with the fullest confidence, the honorable members of the Utah Constitutional Convention, will not be disappointed, nor have cause to regret the choice made in selecting the men best qual@ed to write the State charter-a law of human justice and liberty, before which all may feel equally protected, while learning that untarnished American citizenship is the highest distinction to which we or our children can aspire.

When the minutes of the session were read the following day L. L. Coray of Juab County asked that the letter be stricken from the minutes, stating that "he objected to any and such political b combe being inserted in the Convention journal."

In response David Evans of Weber County said that he felt that an "explanation is due from the gentleman from Juab for the disrespectful lan- 7 guage he has used toward L. L. Goray one of our sick delegates"

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and that he did not know what Coray meant by "political buncombe." He could see nothing of a political nature in Thatcher's letter. Evans went on to state that:

Moses Thatcher is suffering with severe physical infirmities. He wrote a respectful letter to the president of the Convention, in respectable language. It in a spirit of justice was printed, and why one member should stand upon this floor under these circumstances and David Evans brand it as political buncombe, is something I am unable to understand. I think the gentleman ought to explain. If he can point out the politics in it. I would like to hear it.

Evans statement created a sensation as well, but Coray did not respond and the convention proceeded with the day's business. The following day, when the part of the minutes that referred to a resolution to discipline Coray were read, the March 23 issue of the Journal noted: . . . [Coray] was a nervous as a girl graduate on commencement day. He looked steadfastly at his copy of the journal and nervously bit his finger nails. As soon as the reading was through he rose slowly to his feet and rather faintly addressed the chair: Mr: Coray. I would like to make a statement in regard to what occurred here on the jloor yesterday in respect to one of the delegates; it was my understanding from a statement of Mr: Thatcher's that he was but slightly ill and would be here in a few days, but I have since learned that he is seriously ill. Had I known that, I would have made no such remarks as I made here yesterday, and on that condition, I would like to withdraw those remarks. I did not know that MI: Thatcher was dangerously ill.

Thoresen was appointed to take over Moses Thatcher's committee assignments.

One of the major issues of the convention was suffrage. The March 30 issue of the Journal carried this headline, "Against Suffrage-Roberts of Davis Makes the Best

Speech Yet Given in the Convention." The newspaper believed that B. H. Roberts's speech "in opposition to woman's suffrage" . . . "was the best yet delivered on the floor of the convention . . . ." The issue created an intense debate. The April 4 issue of the Journal reported Charles Hart's statement at the convention that "Cache county was for equal suffrage, and so was her delegation." The newspaper said he had "made a most enthusiastic equal suffrage speech and took Roberts severely to task . . . ."

Hart also wanted to know upon "what meat our mighty Caesar had fed that he had grown so fat and arrogant." Apparently his speech was met with applause. At the same session, James P. Low also spoke against separate submission of suffrage, which some wanted.

Thus, on April 10 Low created a "breeze" at the convention when he submitted a petition from the residents of Smithfield for the separate submission of women suffrage. He stated that he would not have taken the trouble to submit it, "but it was an emphatic declaration of the feeling of the people of Smithfield, Cache Co." After looking at the petition the convention's secretary, Parley P. Christensen, appeared puzzled and stated, "No signatures."

According to the April 13 Journal:

It took several moments for the members to realize the point of the joke and then there was a snicker. The suflragists were inclined to take this as a good thing, but the other side hardly saw where it came in. [Charles S.] Varian was on his feet in an instant looking unusually fierce. " I move." he said, "that the paper be returned to the gentlemen who presented it. The act seems to me to have been a direct insult to the house."

Low said he placed it before the house as expressing the opinion of Smithfield. It had been sent there with a request for signatures

and none had been obtained. This should have some weight.

The delegates eventually voted to include women suffrage in the Constitution and not submit it as a separate petition to the voters.

Most likely the issue to come before the Constitutional Convention that affected Cache County the most was a proposal to consolidate the University of Utah and the Agricultural College in Logan, as both were competing for scarce funds. The educational committee recommended uniting all higher schools in one place as part of a State University. The recommendation was ultimately defeated, and Article X in the Constitution provided for the location of the Agricultural College of Utah in Logan and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

This in part was accomplished by an expedition taken by the delegates to Logan to inspect the college firsthand. The convention adjourned at noon on Saturday, April 13, in time for the delegates to board a Union Pacific train that citizens of Cache County had chartered to take them to Logan. Besides the engine and three passenger coaches, the train had a baggage car-which was very popular-in which the anti-prohibitionists of Salt Lake City served refreshments, from bananas to cigars, which were "free as water."

After reaching Logan the delegates made a procession from the train depot to the college, accompanied by "bands . . . discoursing sweet music" and citizens of Cache County waving hands and flags to show their appreciation for the visit. The delegates received tours of the college, and a "sumptuous banquet" was prepared and served by the young ladies of the Domestic Arts Department. After the banquet the delegates were taken to the Thatcher Opera House where an "excellent musical program was rendered." At 8:30 the train pulled out and returned to Salt Lake City. The April 16 issue

View of the Agricultur=, d e g e in Logan taken in 1893. USHS collections.

The "young ladies" of the ACU bomestic Arts Department prepared and served a "sumptuous banquet" to the visiting delegates. USHS collections, gift of Utah State University.

of the Journal reported that "the unanimus expression of delight over the trip wodd tickle the pride and patriotism of every Cache County c&n could he have ovmhemd them." "rhe newspaper went on to state: The a c ~ r s i ~ was n a great undertaking and successjkl beyond per-adventure. The outlay will be bread cast upon the waters; it will be remmed tenfold in the shape offiieds fir t h College*its preseBf locdon and &is entite section of country; ir will be repaid by the imrwsed patromge m w r d by visitors.

Lagaa end Cache ctrwnty certailaly feel prowl of the honor done them and on bekaZf of the people we drisire to say to the delegates fmm this camty "WclI done, thou good and jeaifhjkl semmts.*'

When the convetion finally e n W on May 8, the May 11 issue of the J o s e d reported: Immediately rn~mbiersbegan to hastily gather up their books and papers a d to fake leave of one anotheu. Many strong ties of fiiedghipa welded in the long scssio~asof the comemticrn, had to be bmha. %ugh alt had petted w&r the restmiat of the l ~ n g$essiQn, yet there was 5"cmeEy one who did not really regret that it was aver and will live hermiter only h memory. Haw an hour &per @dj~ummew the hall was ictilmos$&sert4dW And after two months of hard work at the Constitutional Convention, Cache County's delegates returned to the valley.

Ms. Thatcher is coordinator of collections at the Utah State Historical Society.

The Governor's Salary

The Thatcher Opera House and Bank Building where delegates were entertained. USHS collections.

"Mr. HART. ,..I am not in favor of putting the salary so low that only a rich man can afford to occupy the place....[or] that a poor man, if elected...would not...[have] sufficient to enable him to respectably discharge the duties of the office.

There are a great many expenses attendant upon the office of State executive. The governor is visited by a great many people passing to and fro through the country.... He would be at a large expense every year in entertaining alone... . I think that two thousand dollars is about the amount we should fix for the governor."

Delegate Charles Nettleton Strevell Recalls the Constitutional Convention Charles Nettleton Strevell, one of the Weber County delegates to the 1895 Utah Constitutional Convention, was born June 3, 1858, in Pontiac, Illinois. His father J. W. Strevell evidently hosted a reception for Abraham Lincoln when he gave a speech in Pontiac in January 1860, and young Charles sat on the great man's knee. That is one of many engaging stories Strevell included in his reminiscences published in 1943 and titled As I Recall Them.

The Strevells moved west, eventually settling in Miles City, Montana, where Charles began a retail hardware business with his brother-in-law. In 1890 Charles and his wife, Elizabeth Crawford, moved to Ogden, Utah.

Strevell established a retail hardware business in that thriving railroad hub. Later he moved his business to Salt Lake City where he formed Scott-Strevell with George M. Scott, the first non-Mormon mayor of the Utah capital. In 1903, when Scott retired, the firm became Strevell-Paterson Hardware Co. Strevell was also president of the Independent Coal and

Coke Co. and a member of the First Presbyterian Church.

According to Noble Warrum, an editor, writer, and fellow convention delegate, Strevell was "a studious, conscientious, dignified and attentive delegate,. ..influential in his sincerity and simplicity of expression and demeanor and [he] won the friendship and confidence of all his colleagues."

The following account of Strevell's experience as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention is taken from As I Recall Them, pp.

139-48. A few editorial changes have been made.

The governor of the territory of Utah was authorized to issue a proclamation calling for a Convention to prepare a Constitution for the proposed state of Utah. This he did on August 1, [1894,] calling for an election of 107 delegates to meet at Salt Lake City on March 4, 1895.

During- the intervening - time and prior to the nominating of candidates, some of my friends insisted that I should be a candidate. My idea at

Charles 1.Strevell, Weber County delegate.

some good men on both tickets, but there are some who are not so good, and some also, who have only resided in Utah for a comparatively short time. We need only instance that C. N. Strevell is a comparative stranger with us, and that A. J. Cropsey does not own a foot of land in this County or Territory, in his own name, from which his debts can be satisfied. There are others whose well-known dissolute habits ought to prevent their election. We want good men.

Compare both tickets. I f you insist on voting one or the other of the Constitutional tickets straight, we prefer that it should be the Democrat, as that ticket has the most good men on it; but if you prefer selecting some from both tickets, we enclose tickets, so that you can scratch the names of bad men, and substitute the names of good men. Carefully consider this matter, and remember that in your hands and votes rests the future of Utah.

Committee of Non-Partisan Tax Payers of Weber County

Strevell's business was located on Washington Boulevard in the heart of Ogden's downtown.

USHS collections.

that time was to confine my efforts entirely to building up a business, so with some reluctance, I finally consented to allow the use of my name on the Republican ticket, and I soon found unexpected support, principally from the railroad employees, and particularly from customers and friends. Mr. Barney McCabe, a Union Pacific engineer, seemed very much interested in my candidacy. At different times, he asked me to come down and meet some of the railroad men during the working hours.

Such a visit was made, and I remember we trudged across the Union Pacific grounds and finally came to a little building which we entered. I found it was an oil house. Mr. McCabe introduced me to a man who said, "Mr. Strevell, I'm glad to know you, you're the fellow Barney McCabe is all the time talking about."

Through the efforts of Mr. McCabe and his friends, and through the work of Father [Patrick M.] Cushnahan, the local priest of the Catholic Church [St. Joseph's], who put in a day in McGinley's store pasting my name onto the regular Democratic tickets, I was elected.

There were many incidents, as in most political campaigns, which a few of the voters thought unfair. The following is an example:

The above appeal to the voters was intended largely as one to the old residents who had resided in Weber County for some considerable time. Most of them were members of the L.D.S. Church. You will note that my name was mentioned in this appeal, and it is true that since I had located in Ogden in 1890 that I had not been in the territory for any great length of time, and presumably, did not know just what its older citizens would prefer. It developed later that Equal Suffrage was one of the cardinal points. After election day had passed it was found that I had received the largest vote of any of the eleven delegates who had been elected from Weber County.

Friends later advised me that Bishop John Seaman and others probably issued this appeal.

Notwithstanding, Seaman was defeated.

The day following, Mr. Don Maguire called on me and said, "Well, I expected you to receive nearly all the Irish vote, but please tell me why you received all of it?"

Prior to March 4, 1895, the date the Convention was to meet, there were visits from members of the Republican Central Committee, and others. Mr. [Charles] Crane was attempting to build up a strong Republican party as he hoped to be the Republican nominee for governor.

To The Voters of Weber County: We submit that the future interests of Utah demand that the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention should be men of unquestionable integrity, and well-known habits and ability. No mistakes must be made in the selection of these men. There are of course

26

He asked me if there was any special committee on which I would like to be a member. I suggested that if a committee on Labor and Arbitration were appointed, and suitable action by this committee [was taken], it seemed to me that Utah could be kept in the Republican column for the next twenty years. This committee was appointed. I was made chairman of the same, and my impression is that it was satisfactory because Heber M. Wells was elected governor and served eight years; John C. Cutler followed him with a term of four years, followed

by William Spry, eight years, so that the Republican Party was in control of the state government for the next twenty years.

In compliance with the governor's call on Monday, 12 M., March 4, 1895, the delegates elected to the State Convention to adopt a Constitution for the proposed state of Utah assembled in the City and County Building.

The temporary chairman, Mr. James N. Kimball, was authorized to appoint a

James N. Kimball was president pro tern of the convention until the election of John Henry Smith.

first matter referred to us was the contest from a precinct in Salt Lake City.

The committee on credentials reported the next day that they had decided that the following named delegates were entitled to seats in the convention: George R. Emery, W. B Preston, John Henry Smith, Andrew Kimball, A. H. Raleigh.

When President pro tem Kimball announced the committee, naming me as chairman of the committee, you will realize that from my lack of experience in political matters and having named the most prominent Democrats on the Committee, that I was very much surprised. After reading the report of the committee to the Convention and its acceptance, the first man who spoke to me was John Henry Smith who arose as I passed him, and taking me by the hand said, "Young man, I'm glad to know YOU." There was a feeling that if John Henry Smith were seated that he would be made permanent chairman; this was done the following day.

President Smith later announced the standing committee and I was made chairman of the Committee on Labor and Arbitration.

In the City and County Building where the convention was to meet, a large court room was filled with tables at which the delegates were seated. I considered myself very fortunate to be seated at the same table and directly opposite Judge C. C. Goodwin, who was appointed

Delegate Charles Crane was also a Republican party leader.

Committee on privileges and elections, and qualifications of members. The president pro tem later announced a committee on credentials as follows: C. N. Strevell, Mons Peterson, D. B. Stover, David Evans, A. W. Ivins, B. H. Roberts, G. B. Squires.

When President pro tem Kimball announced this committee, I was astounded that he gave my name first, which according to Parliamentary rule, made me chairman. The

27

chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and whose report followed in due time and provided that the age of District Judges should be thirty years.

As I entered the hall several days later, delegate Charles C. Hart, of Cache County said to me, "Judge Goodwin's report of the Judiciary Committee fixes the age of District Judges at thirty." I asked, "What do you want?" He replied saying, "Twenty-five would be all right." I then asked, "What do you want me to do?" He replied saying, "Will you speak to Judge Goodwin about it?" I said, "Yes," and soon after taking my seat, I told Judge Goodwin that Charley Hart had suggested that the age of judges be changed from thirty to twenty-five and he asked me to mention the matter to you.

The judge said, "you move to amend it." I replied saying, "I would not move to amend your committee report, but that if you think it advisable to do so, I should be pleased to second the motion."

At the proper time Judge Goodwin arose and being recognized by the president said in his inimitable drawl, "Mr.-P-r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t-, a-t- a-t- t-w-e-n-t-y-f-i-v-eH-a-n-n-i-ba-1-h-a-dc-r-o-s-s-e-d- t-h-e- A-1-p-sa-t- t-w-e-n-t-y-f-i-v-eN-a-p-o-1-e-o-nh-a-d- c-r-o-s-s-e-d- t-h-e- A-1-p-s-i-nt-o- n-o-r-t-h-e-r-n- I-t-a-1-y- the report of the Committee on Judiciary fixes the age of district judges at thirty, I move to amend by mak-

Charles C. Goodwin chaired the Judiciary Committee.

ing it twenty-five."

When Judge Goodwin was seated, I arose, and being recognized by the president said, "Mr. President, I second the motion." The motion was put and carried.

Later, Mr. Hart was nominated in his district, elected, and reelected so that for twelve years Judge Hart occupied this position. A wonderful example of knowing what was going on and looking after his own personal interest at the right time.

One of the questions before the Convention which brought about more discussion than any other was the matter of equal suffrage; in other words, the same privilege in voting by both sexes.

One of the highlights was B. H. Roberts' opposition to this proposal. My remembrance is that he spoke all of one afternoon, resuming his address the following morning. Most of that day was consumed by him in answering questions and giving short speeches. On the second morning of Mr. Roberts' address, there was placed on the table in front of where he stood a vase filled with at least fifty American Beauty roses. I did not know who was responsible for this appreciation, but suspected at the time that Mr. F. J. Kiesel of Ogden, was responsible, because it is just such a thing as Mr. Kiesel would have done. This exciting debate on this question was finally and definitely settled by the adoption of the motion to grant equal suffrage by a large majority.

Later, Mr. Kiesel created much excitement, especially among the Salt Lake and Southern Utah delegates by proposing that the capital of the state be located in Ogden, Utah, for the first five years, after which time it was to be definitely decided by the voters of the state.

Judge Varian objected to the provision providing for a lieutenant governor on the grounds of economy. The real reason, as I understood it, was his objection to Major Breeden, of Ogden, whom he had been told would be put forth by the Weber County delegates. The nomination for governor would probably be given to Salt Lake County.

I was quite surprised when one of the delegates from Park City, Thomas Kearns, later United States Senator, came to me asking if I would allow the use of my name for the nomination of secretary of state on the Republican

dust, and certainly not in the condition which a document as vital as this should be preserved.

Mr. Coray's efforts finally resulted in an act by the legislature providing an appropriation for this purpose.

Secretary Monson invited the delegates still living to meet with him at the Capitol Building to inspect a drawing and hear an explanation of the proposed receptacle. He invited the nine delegates at that time living to meet with him and the six following were present: Peterson, Strevell, Coray, Corfman, Warrum, and Ricks.

Judge Thurman was ill in California, and Joseph P. Robertson, and William J. Kerr were unable to be present. Meeting with the six delegates were Secretary E. E. Monson, the present Secretary of State, and J. T. Hammond, the first Secretary of State. There was general satisfaction with the plan and the various delegates expressed their approval of the same. Secretary Monson stated that he would then proceed and order the work started. At a later date upon completion of the work, the delegates were again invited to be present. This receptacle contains the original Constitution and Facsimile signatures of the delegates in bronze.

At the first meeting a photograph was taken of the six delegates who were present at the invitation of secretary Monson and the first secretary of state, J. T. Hammond. Since this photograph was taken Mr. Harnrnond and Mr. Ricks have passed away. At the time of this writing [1943], six of the original 107 delegates are still living.

ticket. I answered, saying that I was in business and attempting to build up what I hoped some day would be a wholesale business and that I could not think of neglecting it. He said, "By Gad, if you'll do it, I'll stump the state for you."

Frederick J. Kiesel proposed Ogden as the new state 3 capital.

I have thought that Mr. Kearns must have been of the opinion that Charles Crane or [some] other Salt Lake County resident would be nominated for governor, and in which event some one from Weber County would probably be selected for the second place by the Republican Convention. It will be noted from the above that even though the calling of conventions by the two parties was a long way ahead, there was still some politics being played during the last days of the Constitutional Convention.

The preservation of the Constitution as adopted and signed by the delegates was entrusted to the Secretary of State.

Mr. L. L. Coray, a delegate from Ogden, had for several years attempted to and finally secured an appropriation for a receptacle for the Constitution which was supposed to be preserved by and in the keeping of the Secretary of State. When Mr. Coray began to try to locate the actual Constitution which was signed by the delegates it could not be immediately found in the Secretary of State's office. Later, it was found with other papers thrown together on top of a shelf in the secretary's office, covered with

Remarks of Gov. Caleb W. West to the Convention, May 8,1895 ..."As you had differences of opinion as to what ought to go into the Constitution, as you discussed those questions, there was heat and animation..., and some probably thought at the time, 'I will not vote for a Constitution, if such a principle is put into it.' But as time has gone on...you have...at night upon your pillows thought of the great work that you were doing[.] I am glad that when you [came] here upon the final vote you [came] with a unanimity that bespeaks the adoption of the Constitution and the successful inauguration of Utah... . And as opposition and...differences disappear, as the frost does by the bright glance of the sun, in your mind, so it will throughout the Territory, with the people, and they will rally to your support, they will endorse your work, as well and faithfully done... .rejoicing, that Utah...is clothed with the full power of a great, free, American State, and...part of the greatest Republic that the history of the world has ever known. [Applause.]"

29

Louis Laville Coray Worked to Preserve Utah's Constitution

the capitol rotunda where the instrument and the signatures could be seen through the coming years."

A copy of Coray's own account of his efforts is in the Utah State Historical Society Library, Manuscript A464. It appears below in edited form.

When I was six years of age [Mormon] Patriarch John Smith stopped at our house one night and...gave me a blessing. Among other things he said: that my memory should be held in honorable remembrance. I thought no more of it until I was 33 years old. I was living on a ranch three miles north of Mona, Juab Co., Utah.

Nephi was the county seat, and it, together with Eureka..., supplied most of the population of the county-and hence--elected the county officials.

There were no paved roads in the State, and the people of the little villages were worn out plowing through the mud. There was a county convention to be held at Nephi for the purpose of nominating county officers to be replaced at the next elections.

The people of Mona concluded to send two men to Nephi and ascertain if they could secure one of the county officers for Mona. A Mr. Shepherd and I were selected as delegates from the Mona caucus. We were admitted to the convention, but received no reply until Nephi and Eureka had another caucus. They would not consent to our request, but nominated me as one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. ...[When] my certificate of Election came branded all over with Hon. Louis. L. Coray....I thought of my blessing ....

I came to Salt Lake about 20 years ago and thought I would like to see the original copy, to determine how well it was being preserved. I knew how much the delegates thought of it; you see it had to be referred to President Cleveland for his approval, and they were afraid to trust it to the mail for fear something might happen to it, so they appointed a committee to make a certified copy of the original document which was forwarded to the President and approved.

I went to [Secretary of State Milton H.] Welling and asked him if I might see the Constitution of the State. He said, "What do you mean?'

I said, "I mean the Constitution of the State of Utah, written in long hand and signed by the

Louis L. Coray placed original, hand- written Constitution in marble case during ceremonies conducted at the State Capitol on October 14, 1940.

Salt Lake Tribune photograph.

Louis Laville Coray came to the 1895 Constitutional Convention in Salt Lake City as a delegate from Mona, Juab County, where he was a farmer. Born on March 9, 1862, in Provo, he later married Julia Allred and they raised a daughter and three sons. During the last 25 years of his life Coray lived in Salt Lake City where he died on September 13, 1949, at age 87.

In an editorial noting his death, the Salt Lake Tribune recalled Coray's role as a delegate and his search, years later, for the original engrossed and signed Constitution. "He was tireless and persistent," the Tribune noted, "but his efforts were crowned with success. The manuscript was found in a basement room [of the State Capitol] crowded with books and boxes." Coray then "launched a personal campaign which resulted in a legislative appropriation for the creation and location of a cabinet in

30

delegates."

He said, "I know nothing about it, never saw it." Knowing what had been done to preserve it, you could have easily knocked me down with a feather. He said, "We have a man from the Republican party who has been here about 10 years; we are holding him over to start us in." He called Mr. Jones...[who] went into the basement and stirred up the state papers and records that had been handed up from the City and County Building and dumped prorniscuously into the basement. He was gone about one hour and returned and said he could find nothing but some typewritten copies.

Secretary of State J. T. Hammond took excellent care of the original Constitution during his tenure in office. From Drumm's Manual of Utah.

I told them I did not care for the typewritten copies. I could get one of them at any lawyer's office in the state. So Mr. Welling said, "Come back in a few days and we will try to dig it up for you." I came back, with no result.

"Then, said Mr. Welling, "Go and see [H. E.] Crockett [secretary of state, 1921-291; he was here before me. Maybe he has it."

I called on Mr. Crockett and he was as dumb as Welling, but said, "Go and see Mr. Cummings." [Supreme Court clerk and librarian Leland M.] Cummings told me to see [Utah's first state governor Heber M.] Wells, who was writing history. Mr. Wells advised me to see J. T. Hammond, who was the first secretary of state. I saw Mr. Harnmond, who did not know what had become of the Constitution, but it was placed in his care for safety.

The first thing he did was to make a strong box and carried the key in his pocket, and when the judges of the Supreme Court wished to see if there was any difference between it and the typewritten copies, either in syllabication, capi-

talization, or punctuation, or anything else that could make the least difference between the two manuscripts, he did not trust it to a messenger, but carried it to them [himself] and watched it with an eagle eye to see that no alterations were made.

"Well, what did you do with it when you went out of office?"

"I left it with my successor."

His successor [Charles S. Tingey] had been dead for 10 years.

David Mattson was secretary of state at the time the records and papers were moved from the City and County Building to the Capitol, so I asked the Tribune to interview Mattson and see if he knew anything about it, but the Tribune was a little slow about it and I wrote a little article for the Forum stating what I had done, with the conclusion that Utah had no Constitution and that it was forever gone.

That stirred Mr. Welling up and he said he had the whole office force out for two weeks hunting without success. Then Frank Lees [Welling's secretary] asked permission to go over the building again. It was granted, and he went to the bottom and came up, and found it concealed in a niche in the foundation above one of the safes. It had been lost for 20 years.

Then I asked Mr. Welling what he would do with it. He said he would lock it so tight in one of the safes that no one could see it. I said, "Yes, you might put it under one of the corner stones of the Capitol and forget it."

"Well," said he, "What would you do with it."

I replied, "I would place it in a marble case, covered with glass in some conspicuous place in the Capitol where it could be seen but not handled."

He said, "It was nonsense, a matter of sentiment; and did not amount to any more than the Declaration of Independence, and that there was nothing to that aside of the signature of John Hancock."

I said it was the first time I had heard that sort of sentiment expressed.. ..

"Oh," said Welling, "I am glad it is found."

I then interviewed Governor [George H.] Dern to ascertain if he was willing to recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation be made to preserve the Constitution. He said "No. This is a special session of the Legislature c z d to treat with taxes and whiskey, and we cannot bother with anything else."

I said, "You appropriated $30,000 to

This October 1940 Salt Lake Tribune photograph in USHS collections shows the marble case designed by Lorenzo D. Young to house the Constitution.

The document currently seen by visitors to the Capitol rotunda is a facsimile. The original is in the care of Utah State Archives.

embellish the grounds around the Capitol. That was not enough and you added $30,000 more."

He said, "Yes, we did that, but I am going to meet the Governors at Washington, D.C., and I will see what has been done for the [U.S.] Constitution," and he had some photos taken and sent them to the Tribune, but nothing was done.

The sessions of the Legislature were two years apart and time passed and continued to pass until I finally induced Senator (Elise F.) Musser to introduce a bill which was referred to the sifting committee and was thrown out.

When the Constitution was discovered I met Anthony Ivins [Constitutional Convention delegate from St. George] on the street. He congratulated me and said I had performed a distinct service to the state, and advised me to continue until something was accomplished.

I finally met [Ira A.] Huggins and learned that he was to be elected President of the Senate [in 19391, and asked him if he would introduce a bill for the preservation of the Constitution.

He said he would, but wanted a man to work with him on the floor of the Senate so I induced Grant Macfarlane to do that ....The Attorney General [Joseph Chez] prepared about one dozen bills which were distributed around the Legislature. Huggins advised that I do the same thing in the House as was done in the Senate which was done. [William D.] Wood from Ogden and [Peter S .] Marthakis.. .[Salt Lake

City] took the job over and things moved smoothly.

Just as soon as the Legislature was organized, the bills were introduced. In the Senate [Macfarlane introduced S.B. 14 on January 11, 19391.... In the House I did not learn just how things proceeded, but the bill passed readily and was referred back to the President of the Senate with a recommend that it be passed.

It was then recommended to the Appropriations Committee, where it was passed with some opposition, some saying the Constitution of the State was not worth preserving.

It was then referred to the combined committees of the two houses where it was passed and referred to Governor [Henry H.] Blood who promptly signed it, and it was referred to the secretary of state for action.

I had induced architect L. H. Young to prepare a model, which was accepted.

Secretary of State [E. E.] Monson invited all the surviving members of the convention to meet at the Capitol and decide where it should be placed.

I had talked with Governor Dern in regard to it. He thought the Gold Room would be a suitable place for it, but Secretary Monson thought it would be too crowded. The matter was left for...Monson to decide, and it was placed on the north side of the corridor [rotunda], where ...we hope it will remain for 500,000 years.