Second Inaugural Address, delivered in Representative Hall, Jan.
9th, 1887.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I heard a gentleman say recently: “I have known
all the Governors of Kansas.” I asked: “How many Governors has Kansas
had?” He thought a moment, and replied: “Nine.” I presume a very large
majority, even of those best informed in the political history of the
State, would make the same wrong reply. For Kansas has had sixteen real
and four acting Governors, and since its admission into the Union the
State has had ten. I am glad the committee having charge of the
ceremonies to-day did not forget this fact, and so did not omit to
invite the Hon. Nehemiah Green, who was Governor of Kansas from November
4, 1868, to January 11, 1869.
It is not inappropriate, I think, on an occasion of this character, to
briefly recall some facts connected with the incumbents of the Executive
office of Kansas. I have known all of our Governors, Territorial and
State, except two, Reeder and Geary; and all of the acting Governors
except one, Woodson. The Territorial period extended from June, 1854, to
January, 1861, and during these six years and a half, seven Governors,
and five Secretaries who at times acted as Governor, were appointed by
the President. Kansas had a small population then; but then, as now, the
voice of Kansas was heard in the land, and it was no puling infant’s
cry! So the President sent out, to govern this lusty young giant of the
American desert, strong men, distinguished men, men who had had a large
and valuable training in civil affairs, and they were, one and all, glad
to come and to link their names and fames with that of Kansas.
The Territorial Governors appointed were, in succession: Andrew H.
Reeder, John L. Dawson, Wilson Shannon, John W. Geary, Robert J. Walker,
James W. Denver, and Samuel Medary; and the Secretaries were Daniel
Woodson, Frederick P. Stanton, James W. Denver, Hugh S. Walsh, and
George M. Beebe. All came to Kansas and served in the positions to which
they were appointed, except one, Mr. Dawson, who declined. Of these
seven Governors, all were lawyers except two—Geary, who was a merchant,
and Medary, who was a printer by trade. Five were born in Pennsylvania;
one, Shannon, in Ohio, and one, Denver, in Virginia.
As I have stated, these Territorial Governors were generally
distinguished men.
Governor Reeder, previous to his appointment as Governor, had never held
an office, but he had been for many years one of the most eminent
lawyers of Pennsylvania.
Wilson Shannon had been twice elected Governor of Ohio, and had also
served as Minister to Mexico, before coming to Kansas.
Robert J. Walker had been a United States Senator from Mississippi, and
Secretary of the Treasury during President Polk’s administration.
James W. Denver had represented California in Congress, and served as
Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Samuel Medary was an editor of national reputation, and had been
Governor of Minnesota.
All except Geary were over forty years of age when appointed, and he,
the youngest of them all, had been a soldier in the Mexican war. After
leaving Kansas he rose to the rank of Major General in the Union army,
and was later elected Governor of Pennsylvania.
Thus three of our Territorial Governors have been the Chief Executives
of three other States.
All of the Territorial Governors appointed except one, Denver, are dead;
but the Secretaries of the Territory, all of whom acted as Governor
during their terms of office, are all living except one, Hugh S. Walsh.
Kansas has also elected three Governors who never served, viz.: Charles
Robinson, elected under the Topeka Constitution; George W. Smith, chosen
under the Lecompton Constitution; and Henry J. Adams, elected under the
Leavenworth Constitution. My honored predecessor, Charles Robinson, thus
enjoys the distinction of having been elected under two Constitutions.
He is the first Governor of Kansas in a double sense—he was chosen to
that office under the first and last Constitution framed for the State.
Of the Governors of the State, four were under 35 when elected; all
except two are now past 50; and the oldest was first chosen. All have
been residents of Kansas for more than twenty years; two, the first and
the present Governor, for over twenty-nine years; and all except one,
Governor Harvey, are still citizens of the State. Eight of the ten
served in the Legislature previous to their election to the Executive
office, and the other two, Governors Robinson and Anthony, have since
served as members of the law-making branch of the State government. One,
Governor Robinson, is a native of Massachusetts; three, Carney, Green,
and Glick, are natives of Ohio; two, Osborn and Martin, of Pennsylvania;
one, Harvey, of Virginia; one, Anthony, of New York; and two, Crawford
and St. John, of Indiana. Governor Robinson was a physician; three,
Crawford, St. John, and Glick, were lawyers; one, Carney, a merchant;
two, Osborn and Martin, were printers; Green was a clergyman, Harvey a
surveyor, and Anthony a tinsmith. All except four, Robinson, Carney,
Osborn, and Glick, served in the Union army during the war. Only one of
our Governors, Green, graduated at a college or university. One,
Governor Harvey, was elected to the United States Senate after the
expiration of his term as Governor, and Governor Osborn represented the
country as United States Minister to Chili and Brazil.
Twenty-six years have come and gone since the first Governor of the
State took the oath of office, and he and all of his successors are with
us yet. Here are the Executives who organized the splendid regiments
young Kansas sent out to battle for the honor of the flag. Here are
those who saw the dawn and morning of that marvelous development which
began with the close of the civil war, and has since spread over four
hundred miles of fair and fertile country. Here are those who were
called upon to protect our frontiers against repeated invasions by
merciless savages. Here are those who witnessed the still more dreadful
desolation wrought by insects whose baleful flight darkened the light of
the sun at midday. Here are those who have occupied the Executive chair
during the later years of peaceful prosperity and unexampled growth.
We greet them, one and all, cordially and gratefully. We salute them as
citizens whom the people of Kansas have deemed worthy of their highest
trusts. We honor them as men who have guided the State through
difficulties and dangers, onward and upward to the shining stars. We
testify, willingly and thankfully, our appreciation of the courage and
fidelity with which they discharged their always laborious and often
difficult and perplexing duties. We receive and welcome them as honored
guests of this occasion. And, speaking in the name of the people of
Kansas, and expressing, as I am sure I do, the sentiment which fills all
hearts, I fervently pray that their days may be long and peaceful, and
that prosperity may abide with and bless them to the end.