The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1880-03-25
THEGOVERNORS OF OHIO
Historical Incidents Condensed


From CINCINNATI Com mmerc1ai
The political or general reader VIII
reverts to the period when Ohio frs
became a constituent part of the Amer
ican Union, or further still, to tha
earlier time when it was but a part o
the great Northwest Territory, ant
from those periods in hor history will
trace down to this day the at first slow
and gradual, but in the lapse of years
rapid progress in population and po
litical power, will find much to boil
entertain and instruct. How many O
your multitude of readers are ther,
who can appreciate that when Ohio
emerged, in 1903, from her Territorial
insignificance and was invested with
all the dignities and Importance of &
sovereign State, that, although the
boundariesweret then as comprehensive
as they are now in 1880. yet there were
but nine organized counties comprised
In the entire limits2 These were Ad.
ans, Belmont, Fairfield, Hamilton, j eff.
ferson, Ross, Trumbull and Washing
ton. What those nine counties then
comprised is the same territority that
is covered by the eighty counties Of
Ohio in 1880.
The counting of the votes for the
first Governor of the new State was
not an Onerous task for the first legis-
latiye tribunal, which convened at
Chillicothe in March, 1903. There
had been no contention for the office,
it seems, as there occurred in subse-
quent years, and when the returns
were canvassed and the result declar
ed, Edward Tifiin having received A.
564 votes, ali that had been cast for the
Office, became the first Executive of
Ohio. Official statistics show that
this was not then full vote of the
newly organized State, a census of the
male inhabitants over twenty-one
years OF age being soon after declared
by the Legislature to be 12,OSS.
The second election for Governor,
in 1906, like the first, was attended
with no excitement. Edward Tiffin
having again no competitor. received
all the votes, which were 4, ,7SS. Evi-
IDENTIFY there was again Indifference on
the part of the people, for, although
the number of counties had been in
creased to twenty one, but fourteen
made any returns.
The third election of Governor as.
sumed novel features, involving heat
ed personal animosities and political
asperities. Tifiin resigned in March
of 1907, to accept the Office of United
States Senator. This special incident,
by the way, dates the Ohio policy that
has been more or less politically de-
moralizing in later years, of convert
ing the Governors position into an
ambitious ladder on which to climb
into higher posts of honor and emolu.
ment. There were two candidates in
this contest, Return j. Meigs, jr., and
Nathaniel Massie. Returns from %
counties, when opened in the Legis.
lature, presented q most perplexing
jumble of names, to tax the patience
and disturb the harmony of those
primitive Solons. Nathaniel Massie
had received the suffrages of 3,7O4
sovereigns. Nathaniel Massie, ESQ.,,
had received 1882 and Mr.. Massie,
Daniel Massie and James Massie had
each received one vote; in all for the
Massie name, ,739. Not so annoying
however, was this multiplicity Of
names as was that of Meigs. Return
j. Meigs had 1874 votes, Return j.
Meigs, jr.. had 2. .4SI, James Meixs had
81, Jonathan Meigs had 76, j Jonathan
Return Mags, jr., 16, j. Meigs, jr., ii,
Return Meigs 6, Jonathan r. Meigs 9,
Jonathan r. Meigs, jr., 8, J. Maggs Is
while in several counties single vote
had been cast for Return, Israel and
several other of the Meigs name, the
total being $3.50, or S11 majority for
Meigs, or all the Meigses, over Mas.
sic. When all the returns had been
by special committees, those
from Trumbull, Geauga, Greene,
Champaign, Ross, Belmont, Washing.
ton, Highland, Athens and Adams
Counties were each reported against
and rejected for their illegality. When
thus purged and the report of the
accepted, Return Jonathan
Meigs was declared elected and his
majority counted at 92S. But, al
though thus counted in, Meigs was
not inaugurated. Massie contested
his legal right to the office; charged
in his specifications that Meigs had
not been an inhsbitant of the State
The constitutionally required period
Of four years preceding the election
that within that period he had filed
the Office of United States Judge in
the Territory of Upper Louisiana, and
hat in the spring of the election year,
1907, he had acted as United States
Judge of Michigan Territory, and had
enjoyed the salary of that official.
Meigs replied to these charges. but he
failed in his defense, the General AS.
'embly in joint session, by a vote of
"a yeas to 20 nays, resolving "that
Return j. Meigs, jr., is not eligible to
the Office of Governor" This result
1evolved the duties Of Governor upon
Thomas Kirker, who was Speaker of
he Senate. The defeat of Melgs,
however, but briefly delayed him in
1is ambitious strides. The year fol-
owing he succeeded in obtaining
what he had failed in by losing the
chair-a seat in the U. S.
Senate-Massie again chief, but un-
competitor.
Three candidates were in the field
for Governor when the election was