The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-04-12
TWO YEARS HENCE
IS CAPITOL BUILDING
MILLION DOLLAR STRUCTURE
MUST WAIT ON LEGISLATURE
TANGlE.

Although Oklahoma City has been
designated as the capital of Oklaho'
ma both by the people and the leg
islature, and the selection has been
approved by the highest court of the
state, the construction of capitol
building is still at least two years
away, and the state officers are scat
tered around the city in crowded, rent
ed quarters, as they have been ever
since the opening of the territory OF
Oklahoma.
When the legislature at its special
session last December located the
capital at Oklahoma City, its mem
bers thought they had arranged for a
plan by which Oklahoma was to get
$1,000,000 capitol building free OF
expense to the state, to be completed
probably by July l, 1914. But the
regular session, which convened in
January, composed of the same men
who sat in the special session, failed
to carry out the plans as outlined at
the special session and left the situa-
ton in such a muddle that it is diff
cult for anyone to tell just what the
result of their actions will be, except
that it will be impossible to do any
thing on the construction of a CAPT
tol until after the legislature meets
again.
The capital location bill passed in
December, placed all of the arrange
ments for a capitol building in the
hands of a state capitol commission
of three members, to be appointed by
the governor. Governor Haskell at
once reappointed the three men who
had been serving on a similar COM
mission under authority of the bill
initiated last June, which was later
declared unconstitutional by the su
preme court. Tate Brady, of Tulsa;
Boone Williams, Of Lehigh, and DR..
Leo E. Bennett. of Muskogee.
There had been some opposition to
the capitol commission idea during the
special session, when the bill creating
It was passed, but it became evident
in the regular session, as soon as
Haskell was out of the saddle, that
the opposition was going to be strong
er than ever, especially in the senate.
bill fathered by Senator William M
Franklin, Of Madill, abolishing the
capitol commission and transferring
al! of its duties to the state board OF
public affairs, which has charge OF
the erection of all other public build
ing in the state was passed by the
senate specifically approved by Gov
ernor Lee Cruce in one of his mes
sages to the legislature.
The house was still in control of
the men who had passed the original
bill, however, and closely affiliated
with the Haskell organization. 1t re-
fused to stand for bill abolishing the
commission, but passed as substitute
for it another bill increasing the au-
thority of the commission, and prac-
tically embodying its ideas as to the
powers which should be conferred up
on it. That bill, of course, died in
the senate
Growing directly out of the capitol
commission fight, was the senate in
vestigation of the intimations of graft
directed at Senator Franklin by DR..
Bennett, the republican member of the
commission, in an article published
originally in the Muskogee Phoenix
and widely copied by the press Of
the state. The senate adopted string
ent resolutions of censure against
Bennett as result of the investiga-
tion and demanded that he come be-
fore the senate and make a public
apology. The sergeantat arms was
sent to Muskogee after him, but was
unable to find him. He has not visited
Oklahoma City since that time, it is
said, although the legislature has now
adjourned. 1t was charged by Frank
lin, but denied by Bennett that the
thrusts was made at him because he
was the author of the bill which would
have separated Bennett from his job.
All of these circumstances did not,
however, tend to make the feeling be-
tween the senate and the commission
any more friendly, and when the gen.
eral appropriation bill for the next
biennium came before the sennte here
there were no items in it for the sup
port of the capitol commission. Pro-
vision was made in the deficiency ap-
preparation bill for paying all of its
expenses up to March 10, which was
few days after the adjournment of
the legislature, but no pay was allow
ed after that date.
The result is that the commission