The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1929-06-13
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON

!. !. !.
I'm LIZ Republican party, Familiarity known
as the G. o. ?. because its adherents
NJ J pointing with pride to its achieve
II ments among them the fact that in
II eighteen Presidential elections since it
ri was founded it has been victorious
thirteen times, call 1t the Grand Old
Is Partyo celebrated its seventy-fifth
I'D birthday this month"; And thereby
hangs "a tale of two cities" or rather
'he tale of the rivalry of two cities for the honor
vi being known as the birthplace of the Repub-
ilcan party" The two cities are Ripon, Wis, and
jackson, Mich
In support of Its claim residents of Ripon will
take you to little white schoolhouse and show
you the tablet beside the door on which YOU NAV
read In this schoohouse March 90 1854, was
held the first mass meeting in this country that
uennltey and positively cut loose from old parties
ana advocated new party under the name Repub-
hcan In celebration of that event there was
held on the campus of Ripon college, centering
ABOUT that historic schoohouse, recently, nag
cant depicting the growth of the Republican par
" ana celebration of the diamond Jubilee of the
party. The principal speakers at this event were
James W. Good, secretary of war in President
Hoovers cabinet and Walter J. Kohler Repub-
Hcan governor of Wisconsin.
Residents of Jackson, Mich, in support of their
claim to the honor, will take you to group of oaks
you that here the Republican party was born on
July b, 1894, when the name Republican was
adopted by convention of state delegates WhetE-
er the Republican party was born on March 90 or
July 6, 1854, and whether its birthplace was Ripon.
Wis, or Jackson, Mich, is relatively unimportant
compared to the event ITSELF the critical era in our
history during which it took place and the signfi
cant aftermath of that event
The Republican party was born at a time when
the QlSDue slavery at itc hoio r.
out of the growing opposition to slavery as an in
sttuton especially in the states which had been
formed from the old Northwest territory In ac-
cordance with the famous ordinance of 1887 the
Northwest territory was to have no slavery within
It's boundaries after the year 1900 The ordinance
gave to the owners of fugitive slaves the right to
recover them even after the runaways had escaped
beyond the Ohio but as matter of fact the
underground railroads" which aided escaping
slaves to their freedom were active throughout
this territory. The northern part of the territory
was once known as Michigan and included the
present states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota
and part of Dakota. Wisconsin became state
In 1913 and from it's beginning as commonwealth
was dominated by ardent foes of slavery
Two years after Wisconsin became state there
came to the town of Rpon from New York man
who was to give Ripon its claim to the title of
birthplace of the Republican party" He was
Avian Earle Bovay, born in Jefferson county, New
YORK. July II, 1918, and lawyer by profession
Bovay soon became leading citizen in the little
hamlet OF Ripon and his best friend was Jededah
Bowen, the principal merchant of the place There
were only about hundred voters in Ripon at the
time but they had wide choice of parties for If
was at time in American history when the lines
which separated the traditional Wings and Demo-
Gratis were breaking down and new parties were
constantly being formed
Bovay himself was a Wing and an eloquent and
ardent one. He was not so partisan however but
that he recognized his party was likely to crumble
at any time from the discordant factors within it,
The dispute over slavery was becoming more acute
all the time. The great leaders who had sought
some way of reconciling the differences between
he North and the South over the slavery question
were in their graves and the threat of disunion
and possible civil war was already looming over
the horizon. Il seems that in 1862 Bovay suggested
that strong antislavery party be formed to be
called the Republican party. He preached the sub
ect while on visit to New York city to Horace
Greeley the famous editor of the New York Trb-
Inc. But nothing came of the suggestion at that
ime
Two years later matters reached crisis when
N January 20, the famous Kansas Nebraska bill
vas introduced Into congress. Kansas and Ne
raska were to be admitted as territories with
'ower to DO as they pleased about slavery, DESPITE
he fact that the Missouri Compromise of 1920 had
Orbidden slaves In any states or territories north