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Audubon County |
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CHAPTER VIII.COUNTY SEATS AND COUNTY SEAT CONTESTS. (CONT'D)From History of Audubon Co., Iowa (1915)
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The tenor of Kimball's remarks indicated the animus of his intentions and purposes. He had been forced out of Exira a year before and was employed for the purpose of fighting Exira; he was more than hungry for revenge. With blood on fire, his tongue and lips dripped with venom at every utterance and he spared no opportunity to pour out his vials of wrath upon the editors of the Exira Defender, Hallock and Campbell, especially upon the senior editor. Mr. Hallock was unfortunate in bearing a soiled reputation for morality and chastity, which laid him open to the shafts of Kimball's vengeance. Before the campaign closed, Kimball was ousted from the Advocate by his partner, who continued the fight for Audubon, as appears from the following: "THE ADVOCATE.
"We can now announce to the people of Audubon county, that we have purchased all of Mr. Kimball's right, title and interest in the Advocate office and peace is at last restored."B. F. Thacker, Editor. "SALUTATORY. "Whatever action may have been taken in this fight by the citizens of this town in the past, we are willing and ready to let everything drop, from this date, and throw our whole mind and energies into the paper and the interests of the county, and we will fight to the death all factions, rings and cliques, that are not working in the interest of the public good. "We shall advocate the removal of the county seat from Exira to Audubon next fall, all reports to the contrary notwithstanding, and shall try to do it in a fair, square, manly way, excluding, as far as possible, all slang and personal abuse from our paper. "Hoping that we may retain the present friendship and support of our patrons, we remain, etc. "B. F. THACKER." Mr. Thacker conducted the paper on more respectable and temperate terms. But Kimball secured a new organ--The Times--supplied by his backers, and continued his lampoons upon Hallock & Campbell to the end of the campaign. The articles and poems (?) by Kimball were outrageous and indecent. To have sent them through the mail would have been contrary to the law. They were too obscene to be here repeated. The Sentinel, edited by H. P. Albert ("Pinkey"), threw its influence for Audubon. The only paper in favor of Exira was the Defender. It is doubtful whether any of the newspapers were influential in the fight. They were all disgraces to journalism in that affair. Kimball's character was such that he could not even believe his own word, so it was said. Several local orators harangued the people on the county-seat issue, during the campaign, notably, Melvin Nichols for the Audubon faction. It was difficult to keep track of him or determine which side he did espouse; but he ended up for Audubon. John M. Griggs espoused the cause of Exira. Here is some of the literature of that county-seat campaign: "Don't! Don't! Don't! Hallock, in the last Defender, published a little of his biography, and, mentioning some gentleman he met forty years ago, says: 'Our own history since that time would make a volume; the history of those with whom we then enacted would make many volumes.' "Holy mother of Moses! Don't publish it. Please don't. Give us something else; but, if you have any respect for the rising generation, don't publish your own history. Don't you know there is a law against the publication of obscene literature? "And then the falsehoods in connection with your 'Great transgressions.' Only think of it. You have told lies enough during this county-seat fight to 'make a volume' larger than Webster's Unabridged. Don't attempt such a thing. It would ruin society and break your press. A man who would attempt to contaminate society by circulating such vile literature ought to be kicked into the middle of the next century by a steam mule. "Only think of that (obscene); and those (obscene); and (obscene); and your conduct while at Des Moines; and that fifty-dollar transaction with ------; and your fight in the church; and your infidelity; and your telling a lie and laying it to old Aunty Meek; and your writing silly stories and signing your name 'Aunt Gertie'; and your selling your vote to the railroad company while you were in the Legislature; and your abuse of the homesteaders while you were selling land for the railroad company; and your abuse of the company since they gave you the grand bounce; and your lies about Drew and Van Tuyl; and your abuse of Freeman and Brown; and your forging a county warrant; and your contemptible falsehoods about the Audubon band matter; and your accusing the people of the north of being poor and having no teams; and your loaning your railroad pass; and your writing to Drew and offering to sell out your friends in Exira and publish a paper in Audubon if he would give you a town lot; and your sticking your dirty nose into everybody's business, particularly church matters; and your attempt at smartness, when if your head had been an eighth of an inch nearer flat you would have been a monkey; and your scratching tickets and then lying about it; and your misrepresentations of this town and its citizens; and your general cussedness; and, worst of all, your villainous lies about the pious editor of the Audubon Times. And so on, ad infinitum. "Don't attempt such a thing! Reproduce the worst immoral work extant; publish a history of John Allen, the 'Wickedest Man in New York,' but don't, please don't, corrupt society by publishing the first volume of your own horrible demoralizing biography. Spread the yellow fever, smallpox, or any other fatal epidemic, for they will only kill the body, but such a work as you propose to inflict upon mortality would damn the very soul." Here is another: "On Monday evening last there was a meeting of the citizens of Oakfield, called by Elder Crocker for the purpose of presenting some of the reasons why the people of this county should not remove the county seat to Audubon, at this time and under the present existing circumstances. The railroad tools and yelpers of Audubon, hearing of it, came down to wool the people into their snares. Elder Crocker generously divided the time with them. They set Elder M. Nichols, Esq., M. D., up as their spokesman (we won't say anything about how he came to be on their side) and Elder Crocker chose J. M. Griggs to close the debate. Crocker led off and gave the voters present a chain of facts and circumstances concerning the workings of this great soulless monopoly, that caused their eyes to open and set their thoughts at work. He showed them that a vote to remove the county seat to Audubon and thereby accept the cunningly-drawn lease, the deed of trust to the public square, and the bond of Audubon's forty-two citizens to build a house in that town in 1884, 'If the board of supervisors at that time required it,' was involving this county's finances in a ruinous struggle with a self-created ring, consisting of forty-two men of wealth and influence, backed by the railroad company as an interested party. Elder Crocker made many other telling points and unanswerable arguments why removal should not take place at this time. "Nichols then followed with the piece he had prepared against Audubon and which he was to have delivered at that place last Saturday, substituting the name Exira for Audubon. His talk fell upon the ears of his hearers with the deadness of conscience-stricken, benumbed, though eliciting nothing but terse cuts from the friends of a fair vote of the actual citizens of the county on all questions of financial interest to the people. "J. M. Griggs followed with one of his soul-stirring "appeals for justice to all, showing that Exira was less than two miles further from the center of the county, by section lines, than Audubon, and refuting many sophistries offered by those who are hired to assist the railroad company in robbing the poor man of his lands and home. The railroad hirelings were so dissatisfied with the results of the meeting that they determined to have another at Audubon, where they can call in their subsidized voters and supporters to enthuse for them, and where they suppose Messrs. Crocker and Griggs dare not put in an appearance. But they will find that these gentlemen are not afraid 'to beard the lion in his den,' or the liar in his kennel." And here is still another: "Eds. Defender--Fearing you might not hear of it in any other way (?), I write to say that Elder Crocker had an appointment to speak at Oakfield, on the county-seat question, and some of the friends of Audubon announced that D. W. Powers would answer him. Last night (Monday) when Mr. Crocker came, others came also. Audubon was represented by several of her citizens, viz : E. H. Kimball, E. J. Freeman, B. F. Thacker, M. Nichols and others unknown to your correspondent. There were present also, J. M. Griggs, Charles Van Gorder, John Crane, and a house full besides. In due time the house was called to order and Washington Bartlett was elected chairman for the evening. Elder Crocker came forward and expressed himself as ready for the discussion with Mr. Powers; but, although he was present, the railroad company were not inclined to trust their case with an untried man, and he probably, not desiring to speak, an arrangement was entered into by which a debate was had between Mr. Nichols, on the one hand, and Messrs. Crocker and Griggs on the other. Mr. Nichols opened with a very fair speech, considering he had so lately got on that side of the fence, having, but a short time since, been employing his tongue and pen in favor of Exira, on which side I believe he did better work than he is now doing for Audubon. Query: What force was it that lifted him over the fence so suddenly? "Mr. Crocker followed, completely refuting, as we think, the argument advanced by Mr. Nichols, who, at the conclusion of Mr. Crocker's remarks, again took the floor. His speech was of course, much like the first, but, seeing the 'cattle', as he called the opposing speakers, were somewhat stubborn and hard to handle, he 'shed his woolen' and went at them in his shirt sleeves. "Mr. Griggs followed him with a complete refutation of his arguments. A number of happy hits were made on either side, and the speakers were all repeatedly and vociferously cheered. One or two things occurred that, to one not versed in matters of this kind, looked a little singular. Why was it that Kimball took a front seat, and occasionally, when he imagined he saw something funny or of particular interest to their side, clapped his hands wildly, at the same time raising them high above his head and casting 'sheep's eyes' at his Audubon chums? Was it because he was the 'bell wether,' and when he jumped they were expected to follow? They followed any way." |
