Grundy County, Missouri - Chapter 8, 1908

POLITICALr - The First Election - The Barbecue - The Men Who Have Led - Early Political Battles - The Grange - The First Temperance Move - Local Option in 1886 - Local Option in 1907 - County Officers, 1842 to 1908.

FROM the year 1864 Grundy County has been overwhelmingly Republican. In a few instances issues of a local nature have been raised which have enabled the Democrats to win one or two county offices, but such instances have been rare.

The first presidential election in which the people of this county were interested was that of 1840. The log cabin and hard cider campaign of "Old Tippecanoe" caught the fancy of the frontiersman of that day ; besides, Wm. Henry Harrison had been a farmer boy and a soldier.

As a means of expressing genuine enthusiasm, the big barbecues of pioneer times make our own political rallies fade into insignificance. Succeeding elections, however, from the time of Wm. Henry Harrison to the time of Lincoln, were less exciting and no records exist of local campaigns in those times. Before the war the county was close between Whigs and Democrats.

Prominent among the men who bore the l)runt of poHtical battle in the twenty years following* the war are John H. Shanklin, George H. Hubbell, R. A. DeBolt, Jewett Norris, W. B. Rogers, A. H. Burkeholder. George Hall, Luther Collier and Stephen Perry. By the close of this period E. M. Harber was already becoming quite prominent, and P. C. Stepp and O. G. Bain with a number of others were taking a leading part in county affairs. Toward the close of the century there was a large infusion of new blood. Among the ablest and most aggressive of the younger men were C. D. Morris, A. G. Knight, Samuel Hill, Hugh Smith, Homer Hall, W. C. Myers, O. P. Hubbell, O. G. Williams and others.

In 1869 Representative Freeman introduced a measure in the legislature abolishing the office of probate judge, who was at that time ex-officio presiding judge of the county court, and of the two other county judges, and substituting in lieu thereof one county judge with probate jurisdiction. W. B. Rogers was especially active in opposition to this measure, taking the ground that it was designed to frustrate the plans under way to build a railroad by cutting off the political heads of the members of the county court. At that time prospects for a rail-, road looked dark and there was strong opposition to the court's policy of continuing to issue bonds which had been voted for it. The measure was defeated.

George W. Hubbell was elected representative in 1870, over the republican nominee, after a pretty fight. True to the theory that a legislator should represent his constituents rather than his own views, Mr. Hubbell, a stalwart Democrat, voted for

Following- the panic of 1873 the secret order of the Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry, swept the country. The first lodge was organized in Grundy County August 30, 1873. Within six months the county was a net work of granges, and in August 1875 it contained thirty-five. One of the cardinal aims of the order was to do away with "middle men" so far as possible, and have goods produced or used by farmers go direct from producer to consumer. Needless to say, this idea was not very popular with merchants and other middle men. While it protested that it had nothing to do with politics, the order probably owes its early downfall in the count}' to the extreme measures it tried to carry in county politics. A great convention held at the court house January 31, 1874, recommended a reduction of 25 per cent in the fees of the circuit clerk and recorder and 50 per cent in the fees of the county clerk. The treasurer's salary w^as to be reduced from $800 to $400 a year, and the county school commissioner was to have the very attractive salary of $3.00 per day for work done in connection with his office. They advocated biennial sessions only for the general assembly, which at that time frequently held extra sessions, and that taxes be collected semi-annually.

They agreed further not to "patronize any manufacturers of agricultural implements or machinery or their agents that will not sell to patrons or their agents at wholesale rates at the factory." They decided to ship grain through their own county agent, and deplored the action of the Rock Island in refusing special rates granted other shippers. Petitions were prepared for the state and national government asking for lower freight rates and great quantities of grain were hauled in wagons across the country to Chillicothe, the granges boycotting the Rock Island because of its refusal to meet their demand for lower rates. These demands of the Grangers in Grundy County were comparatively mild. In Chariton County they attempted to do av^^ay with all the county offices, and substitute instead only two offices, a county auditor and a county judge. After a few years of prosperity the grange died out in this county almost as rapidly as it had grown. But in 1874 it was a power in the land, and there were comparatively few farmers of influence who did not belong to the order.

The first temperance move was inaugurated in 1854. In that year John H. Shanklin presented a petition signed by a majority of the tax payers of Trenton against granting dram shop licenses for a year. The petition was approved and for a year no licenses were granted. In 1886 a widespread local option movement was carried in this county to a victory at the polls, and local option went into effect in 1887. After a long and hard fight against the law it was finally declared unconstitutional in 1889. In 1907 the question was again put before the people, carrying in the county by a great majority, but being defeated in the city of Trenton by a close vote.

The county being overwhelmingly Republican, the chief interest in local campaigns is the contest for nomination by that party, nomination being generally ec[uivalent to election. The Democrats, through party loyalty, and in order to keep itp an organization, generally put out a ticket for at least part of the offices.

In the following- list of officers, a part of the names appearing after each of the earlier elections are holdovers, with two years of a four years term still to serve. In later elections the holdovers are generally omitted from the list of officers of each biennial election.

ELECTION OF 1866. Sheriff - Orville Moberly. County Clerk - R. P. Carnes. Circuit Clerk - N. T. Doane. Treasurer - Wm. C. Benson. Probate Judge - A. H. Burkeholder. Representative - J. B. Freeman. Prosecuting Attorney - Daniel Metcalf. County Judges - A. H. Burkeholder (ex-officio), George A. Spickard, W. V. Denslow.

County Clerk - R. P. Carnes. Circuit Clerk and Recorder - A. K. Sykes. Treasurer - W. C. Benson. Probate Judge - A. F, Burkeholder. Representative - J. B. Freeman. Prosecuting Attorney - John M. Norris. County Judges - George A. Spickard, W. V. Denslow.

ELECTION OF 1896. Sheriff - J. M. Myers. Treasurer - W. M. Morris. Prosecuting Attorney - J. W. Schooler. County Judges - A. J. Dix, W. A. McCracken. Surveyor - J. C. Vannatta. Coroner - D. W. Coon.

Dr. Thompson, the most prominent man in the county's early history, was a member of the county court when this and Mercer constituted a part of Livingston County. As previously stated the store house of James Lomax was the first meeting of the Grundy County court. Afterwards a log house, built as a Baptist church was used. In 1842 the contract to build a court house was let to Wm. Collier, father of Luther Collier, Larkin Richardson and Joseph Thompson, all of Howard County. The building cost $6,000. A jail was built in 1859. All the county's business was conducted along lines of most rigid economy. Jurors received fifty cents a day. In 1850 $3 was allowed for taking the census. What it consisted of is not known. In that year the old clerk's office was ordered sold, but the court changing their minds, it was repaired instead, and burned in a few years, destroying, among other things, the records of the probate court.

The first senatorial district of which Grundy County was a part comprised the counties of Macon, Linn, Livingston and Grundy. The next, Daviess, Harrison, Mercer and Grundy, the next was Mercer, Grundy, Livingston and Carroll; then Livingston, Mercer, Putnam, and Grundy. It now forms a part of the Fourth senatorial district, composed of the counties of Grundy, Harrison, Livingston, Mercer and Putnam. The district is overwhelmingly Republican. This county has sent the following persons to the senate:

The first circuit judge elected from this county was R. A. DeBolt in 1864. He held the office ten years. Paris C. Stepp was elected in 1892 and served eight years. Grundy County is in the Third circuit, which includes the counties of Harrison, Mercer and Putnam. Thus the circuit is strongly Republican.

This county forms a part of the second congressional district, which is normally nearlv fi\e thousand Democratic. The other counties in the district are Chariton, Carroll, Linn, Livingston, .M(mroe,. Randolph and Sullivan. Grundy Count}' has furnished but one congressman, R. A. DeBolt, elected in 1874. The people of Grundy County h;i\-c reason for ]:)ride in the fact that peanut politics is never injected into public affairs of a non-political nature and more especially school affairs. A number of our county school commissioners have been Democrats and have received the unanimous sup])ort of the Republican voters of the countv. During the greater part of the time in recent years Trenton has had a Democratic mayor and township officials are oftentimes selected without regard to politics.