Volume 18 , Issue 11

1907 - Alva And Woods County Division

It was in the Guthrie Daily Leader, Guthrie, Oklahoma, dated 6 June 1907, Thursday, page 5, that we found the following headlines: "Alva And Woods County Division." This has to do with the division of Woods "M" County into smaller counties and written by "One Who Knows."

Found on Newspapers.com

Fairview, O., June 6 (1907) -- One would think from the desperate efforts which Alva is making against the constitution and against county division that the town's future existence depended upon knocking out the division of Woods county even at the sacrifice of statehood, and that no person who is not familiar with the facts would ever think that Alva has ever thought favorably of dividing the county in any way. No one would presume that they could be so inconsistent.

"A slight review of the history of the county division in Woods county would prove to any one that they are not only absurdly inconsistent now, but instead that they are as selfish as Shylock because they were then and always had been in favor of county division. The only question with them is how it is to be divided. They had always realized that Woods county was too large and would, at some time or other be divided, and it was because that they did not get to dictate this division was what was causing all the trouble.

"There had scarcely been a meeting of the Oklahoma legislature within the last ten years that this trouble some question did not come before it, and in nearly eery instance Alva had favored a division along lines suitable to themselves. Their idea of division was not one for the welfare and convenience of the people residing within the various parts of said county, but instead as you would notice by their map herein presented, they want the lion's share of the best territory. This man was presented to the county boundary committee by Jesse J. Dunn, and in asking said committee to divide said county, stated that if the county was divided according to this map it would suit the citizens of Alva and offering as an inducement to name one of the new counties, Allen county, in honor of the chairman of the boundary committee. This man was generally known as the Alva Helena map, and reliable rumor had it that this was the man agreed upon by the two towns when the compact or deal was made as it was generally conceded that such a deal was made, wherein O.A. Brewer former county commissioner of Woods county, was to vote for a county court house at Alva and in turn Alva was to assist Helena to get her high school, and further, to stand by Helena for a county seat whenever the county should be divided.

"This was the man that Alva wanted when they sent John Doolan down to Guthrie last winter with $20,000, or even $40,000 if necessary, to defeat the present division. This was the map that Alva wanted when she sent George Crowell and other Alva parties down to Guthrie to present their map to Fairview and ask Fairview to co-operate with them to secure such a division. Compare it with he map adopted by the convention and you will readily see that there is no comparison as to equity, justness and fairness to all parts of the county.

"Fairview was told that if this map was adopted there would be no fight made on county division, but unless it was adopted Alva would fight the whole business through the courts if necessary. What would be the chance of county division with a map like this if left to a vote of the people of Woods County as Alva wanted and persistently demanded through Jesse Dunn after they found out that the present map was adopted by the convention?

"After all of this, some of our senatorial and state candidates, together with a few of our leading daily papers were asking the convention to reconvene and back up on county division, all for the purpose of suiting the might town, Alva. Alva! Alva! On what hast thous been fed, that thou has grown so awful in strength and that thou should be so greatly respected?

"Dr. Bilby boasted to the convention that they could cut Alva to the heart and yet Alva would live and thrive. Henry Johnson verified the truthfulness of this statement at the time by saying that while he was a members of the Oklahoma legislature in 1896-7 he voted for an appropriation of $5,000 to build a Northwestern Normal school at Alva and by the time the building was completed it cost the Territory over $100,000. The congress of the Untied States had just recently appropriated $45,000 with which to erect additional school buildings at Alva, and it was fully expected that by the time these buildings were completed, the state, or territory of Oklahoma, would be asked to appropriate an additional amount of not less than $50,000 to finish paying for these buildings. In the face of the fact that Alva was doing everything she could to obstruct statehood (just because she could not get Woods county divided as she wanted it) the question arises as to whether this appropriation would be forthcoming.

"They certainly would not ask it of a Democratic legislature as they were then doing all they could against a Democratic constitution and against the Democratic party. Seriously, would the Democratic party ask a Democratic convention to backup on a Democratic proposition which, when done, would dissolve a dozen or more Democratic county organizations, just to pacify a few disgruntled Democrats in one selfish town? If they do and the constitution backs up on county division, it would be the biggest mistake the party ever made in Oklahoma. They will not do it."
  |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---