•bVS.'A 
 
 V \ 
 
 
 LIBRARY 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 JANUARY 9, 1911 
 
 AND 
 
 FIRST MESSAGE 
 
 OF 
 
 . 
 
 Governor Lee Crucf 
 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Third Legislature 
 of Oklahoma 
 
 JANUARY 10, 1911 
 

Inaugural Address 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: —In speaking to you 
 today I am following a custom that has pre¬ 
 vailed with the Chief Executive of the States 
 since the foundation of our Federal Govern-, 
 ment. The occasion demands, and my inclina¬ 
 tions compel, that I be brief m my remarks. 
 On November the 16th, 1907, the proclamation 
 of President Roosevelt ushered into political 
 being the State of Oklahoma. Already the 
 people had adopted a Constitution to protect 
 their rights and safeguard their liberties. This 
 Constitution has been variously appraised bv, 
 those who have read and studied it. Its ene¬ 
 mies characterize it as novel, radical and vic¬ 
 ious; while its friends claim for it a degree 
 of perfection not hitherto attained in the or¬ 
 ganic law of any sister State. Let us see which, 
 if either, is right in the estimate placed upon 
 that document. 
 
 We assert that there is nothing radical or 
 strikingly new in our constitution. We have 
 simply acted the part of wise citizens and have 
 attempted to profit by the experience of others, 
 and in writing our fundamental law we have 
 embodied in it the best provisions to be found 
 in other State Constitutions, so that Oklahoma’s 
 Constitution is the condensation, into a single 
 instrument, of the best and most vital pro¬ 
 visions to be found in forty-five other State 
 Constitutions. 
 
 There is hardly a provision to be found in it 
 that has not its counterpart in some other State 
 Constitution. So the charge that we are trying- 
 new theories and experiments in government 
 is absolutely without foundation. We have em¬ 
 bodied in our organic law the fundamental prin¬ 
 ciples of free and just government—principles 
 that were first announced, established and prac¬ 
 ticed by the fathers of the Republic; and must 
 continue to prevail as long as free government 
 endures. That practical operation under this 
 constitution is coducive to good government, is 
 abundantly established by the unprecedented 
 growth and development witnessed in the state 
 since statehood. The net increase in our popu¬ 
 lation during these three years exceeds the 
 increase in each of twenty-five other states of 
 this Union in twenty-five years, and during 
 these three years the taxable wealth of Okla¬ 
 homa has increased above an average of nearly 
 one hundred million dollars a year until today 
 the total taxable value of property in this com¬ 
 monwealth aggregates the tremendous sum of 
 

 almost one billion dollars. This growth in pop¬ 
 ulation and material wealth has been accom¬ 
 plished during a period of national financial de¬ 
 pression, supplemented by disastrous crop fail¬ 
 ures, and the most merciless and unwarranted 
 attacks of the State’s enemies ever witnessed in 
 political historyy. 
 
 But it is needless to recount the achieve¬ 
 ments of the past. These things are known 
 to all of our citizens who have informed them¬ 
 selves upon conditions present and past in this 
 state. 1 have aluded to them in the hope that a 
 better understanding of our laws and Consti;-' 
 tution may prevail among the people in other 
 states. I wish it were possible to place in the 
 hands of every fair minded citizen in this Re¬ 
 public a copy of the organic law of this State, 
 to the end that a proper estimate might be 
 placed upon the same and justice done our 
 people. 
 
 Our real interest now lies in the immediate 
 future. Standing here upon the threshold of a 
 new administration, in the presence of men of 
 all shades of governmental and political beliefs. 
 
 I am overwhelmed with the realization of the 
 responsibilities and prosperity of more than one 
 million six hundred thousand people, which 
 number will rapidly increase in the future, are 
 in some measure dependent upon my acts. Un¬ 
 aided, no man is strong enough, mentally or 
 physically, to successfully cope with the prob¬ 
 lem. It is upon this idea of the inability of a 
 single individual to give the best government 
 that our institutions are erected. Hence we 
 repudiate the doctrines of kings and advocate 
 rule by the people. I want the idea of “govern¬ 
 ment by the people” to prevail in its broadest 
 interpretation in Oklahoma for the next four 
 years. There is work for each of us to do, and 
 if we are to obtain the best results, there must 
 be no shrinking or responsibilities. I am but, 
 a chosen servant to lead in the work we have 
 in hand, and it is in this sense that I enter 
 upon by public service. 
 
 It is your duty to aid me in every honest en¬ 
 deavor I make, looking to good government in 
 Oklahoma. With this support, my administra¬ 
 tion will attain some measures of success. I 
 realize full well that my political views are not 
 in accord with many of you; but I also realize 
 that our obligations to the whole people tran¬ 
 scend any party obligation we can ever incur;' 
 and in this broader conception of our public 
 duties we can find common field in which to 
 labor for the people’s welfare. 
 
 The battle of ballots is ended; the contest 
 between parties, for the present at least, is 
 over; now let us all join hands, and as patriots,, 
 not as partisans, work zealously for the com¬ 
 mon good. I am entitled to the encouragement 
 and support, during the coming four years, of 
 every good citizen of Oklahoma, without regard 
 to his creed or his politics. I invite this sup¬ 
 port, and expect it, and will be bitterly disap¬ 
 pointed if I do not receive it. Since my elec¬ 
 tion I have been agreeably impressed with the 
 great number of letters I have had from men in 
 every walk of life, pledging me their support 
 and hearty co-operation during my administra- 
 
 — 4 — 
 
tion, and many of these letters have come from 
 leading members of the Republican party. With 
 that spirit animating the people of Oklahoma, 
 I am encouraged to go forward in the discharge 
 of my public duties, assured that I shall have 
 the counsel and support of men of all political 
 opinions. 
 
 Just a word to the press of the state: You 
 can make or destroy the glory of Oklahoma's 
 future. No other factor in the State wields 
 such a powerful influence. It is therefore high¬ 
 ly important that that influence be exerted in 
 the direction of better government and a great: 
 er State. I have small complaint to make of the 
 treatment I have received from the newspapers 
 of this state. With few exceptions, they have 
 treated me with courtesy and fairness, and in 
 the instances where the reverse is true, I have 
 attributed the fact rather to political zeal than 
 a deliberate desire and intention to injure me. 
 
 But whatever may have been the motive, 
 these things, with me, are in the past; let the 
 past retain its own. For the future 1 ask the 
 aid of every paper published in this state, in 
 building here a great and prosperous common¬ 
 wealth. When I make mistakes, and I am sure 
 that I will make too many of them, I expect 
 your criticism. Merited criticism, if given in 
 the proper spirit is useful and helpful and I 
 shall try to profit by it. If I merit your com¬ 
 mendation, an expression of your approval will 
 be appreciated, and will help to lighten the 
 load that I must bear and make smooth the way 
 I must travel. 
 
 I shall not undertake to define in detail my 
 policies for the future. I will only say this 
 much. It shall be my purpose to work inces¬ 
 santly for the good of Oklahoma’s citizenship, 
 and for the greatest possible development of 
 the resources of the state. To the timorous 
 investor abroad, I want to send this message: 
 As long as I am governor of Oklahoma, your in¬ 
 vestments in this state, if they are honest in¬ 
 vestments, and made in observance of our laws, 
 will be as sacredly observed and safeguarded 
 here as anywhere on the face of the earth. 
 Capital and labor should be friends. Both are 
 sorely needed in the future development of the 
 State, and neither shall unduly harrass the 
 other if I can prevent it. More railroads with 
 better equipment; more factories with better 
 appliances, greater development of vast min¬ 
 eral resources, with greater safety to employes; 
 more employment of labor with better wages; 
 an educational sytsem meeting the needs of an 
 advanced citizenship; a continued development 
 of the agricultural interests, giving greater com¬ 
 fort and happiness to the farmers of the State, 
 will be the slogan for Oklahoma during the next 
 four years. 
 
 My politics is well known to you all. I was 
 elected as a Democrat, but I shall not be a par¬ 
 tisan in the administration of the affairs of 
 the State. I shall look at all times to the 
 greatest good to all the people. Under no con¬ 
 ditions will I sacrifice the welfare of the public 
 to the interest of any political organization. 
 In appointing men to office, merit and honesty 
 alone will govern me. If I make a mistake in 
 
 — 5 — 
 
I 
 
 the appointment of any man to office, that mis¬ 
 take, as soon as it is discovered, will be prompt¬ 
 ly corrected by the removal of the incompetent 
 or corrupt official. 
 
 I think I will trespass a few minutes further 
 upon your time by referring to my future atti¬ 
 tude towards the prohibition law in this state. 
 I have so repeatedly stated that I favored the 
 enforcement of every law upon the statute 
 books that it would seem needless for me to re¬ 
 peat here that declaration. But our people 
 have so constantly fought over the prohibition 
 law of the State that I feel that a special refer¬ 
 ence to that law is desired by the public. While 
 I am. governor every power given into my hands 
 by the Legislature and the people of the state 
 will be exhausted in an endeavor to give to the 
 people an honest and effective enforcement of 
 that law. I am not a fanatic on the question of 
 prohibition, and no fanatacism will be exhibited 
 by me in attempting to enforce that law; but 
 so long as it remains one of the laws of this 
 State, in the discharge of my sworn duties, I 
 will attempt faithfully to enforce it. In this 
 endeavor I am entitled to the active help and 
 support of every citizen who believes in law 
 enforcement. Twice the people have decided 
 in favor of that law, and it is certainly entitled 
 to as much consideration, on the question of 
 enforcement, as any other law in this State. 
 To those who purposely violate this law, I want 
 to give this warning: You must pay the pen¬ 
 alty which the law imposes. Don’t violate the 
 law, harboring the hope that you will find an 
 escape, through the medium of a pardon, from 
 the penalty you have voluntarily and willfully 
 incurred. This much the governor can do to aid 
 in the enforcement of the law—he can make 
 certain the punishment, after conviction, by 
 withholding pardon. If you violate this law, 
 you had better defeat the case against you in 
 the court, for you will stand little chance to de¬ 
 feat justice, after conviction, by obtaining a 
 pardon at my hands. 
 
 And now, my fellow citizens, let us set our¬ 
 selves to the work to be performed—the build¬ 
 ing of an ideal commonwealth, a commonwealth 
 of comfortable homes and contented people; 
 where every man shall reap ‘ and enjoy the 
 fruits of his toil; where capital shall find safe 
 and profitable investment without oppressing 
 the poor; where virtue shall be exalted and 
 vice abased; where there shall be a realiza¬ 
 tion of the hope of the ages and the dream 
 of the past, “government of the people, for 
 the people and by the people.” This cannot be 
 accomplished in a year, nor in four years, but 
 we can start the forces moving which will tend 
 to that end. In this field there is need for all, 
 and the man who withholds his help is not a 
 friend to Oklahoma. 
 
 Imploring your help, and with a firm reliance 
 upon Him who has been the friend and pre¬ 
 server of % our nation in the generations of the 
 past, and who will aid us in the future, if we 
 but place our trust in Him, I enter upon the 
 duties of the office determined to do my best 
 to merit the confidence reposed in me by the 
 people in electing me to be their governor. 
 
 I thank you. 
 
 — 6 — 
 
MESSAGE 
 
 the Members Third 
 
 Legislature in Regular 
 Session Assembled 
 
 Gentlemen: —I submit this message to you 
 with a feeling of hesitancy. My term of office 
 has just begun, and it is impossible for me 
 to know the needs of the various departments 
 of the State, for which your duty requires you 
 to legislate. As fast as possible, 1 shall ac¬ 
 quaint myself with the conditions of the dif¬ 
 ferent departments; the legislation needed, and 
 will supply you with the facts. There are, how¬ 
 ever, certain matters that I desire to call to your 
 attention at this time. The majority of you 
 were elected upon platforms embracing distinct 
 promises to the people. These pledges should 
 be faithfully redeemed. No man, who is worthy 
 to hold a seat in the legislature of Oklahoma, 
 will now undertake to ignore or vary the terms 
 of the compact he made with the people prior 
 to election. 
 
 Education. 
 
 Much time has been given to the subject of 
 education by previous Legislatures of the State, 
 and much substantial progress has been made 
 along these lines; but there is much yet to be 
 accomplished if we are to give to the people of 
 this State the best possible system of schools, 
 and a system that they are entitled to have 
 prevail. The wealth of the State is unevenly 
 distributed, and will likely continue to be as 
 long as time shall last. It follows that we have 
 districts of large taxable values, where an in¬ 
 significant tax will maintain good schools nine 
 months in the year; while in other districts the 
 taxable wealth is so small, that a tax rate 
 sufficient to maintain a proper school for three 
 months becomes burdensome. In some districts 
 the tax on public service corporations, yields 
 large sums of money for educational purposes. 
 While in many less fortunate districts no rev¬ 
 enue whatever is derived from this source. 
 Under these conditions, progress halts in these 
 unfortunate districts. The citizen of another 
 State, coming into our midst to abide with us, 
 naturally seeks a home in the district where 
 the taxation bears lightest, and school advan¬ 
 tages are best. 
 
 For these conditions to remain, mean an un¬ 
 evenly balanced citizenship; one class educated 
 
 — 7 — 
 
and well equipped for useful citizenship, the 
 other class poorly educated, and ill prepared 
 to do their rightful part in building the State. 
 It is manifestly impossible to distribute evenly 
 the wealth of the State among the various 
 school districts, but we can more evenly dis¬ 
 tribute the benefits of this wealth that arises 
 in the form of taxation. You are being asked 
 to appropriate hundreds of thousands of dollars 
 to care for the criminal and pauper classes of 
 the State, and these demands grow larger and 
 more burdensome each year; but it is a burden 
 that bears with uniform weight over all sections 
 of the • commonwealth. It is certainly as just 
 to tax the citizen of Oklahoma City to help 
 educate the boy of Carter County, as it is to 
 tax the citizen of Oklahoma County to help 
 provide the care for 'the criminal of Carter 
 County. Besides it is the practice of good 
 business methods. Better educateed citizenship 
 will result in fewer criminals to provide for, 
 and a less number of paupers to support by the 
 State. I therefore urge that you levy a tax 
 for publi^ school purposes that will be sufficient, 
 when supplemented by the interest on the in¬ 
 vested school fund, and rentals on public school 
 lands, to provide not less than five months 
 school in each district in the State. 
 
 The Constitution of this State provides that, 
 “The supervision of instruction in the public 
 schools shall be vested in a Board of Educa¬ 
 tion, whose powers and duties shall be pre¬ 
 scribed by law,” and until otherwise provided 
 by law, the Governor, Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction, Secretary of State and Attorney 
 General constitute the Board. Three years have 
 gone by without any serious attempt on the part 
 of the Legislature to vitalize this important 
 section of the Constitution. Oklahoma has a 
 splendid opportunity to inaugurate and main¬ 
 tain a system of education suited to the needs 
 of our people, and thoroughly efficient in all of 
 its defails. That we have no such system now 
 and cannot have under our present laws, is 
 manifest to every man who has given the sub¬ 
 ject serious thought. A half dozen different 
 educational boards,' at the heads of different 
 departments of educational work, each having 
 its peculiar idea of the fitness of things educa¬ 
 tional, and no two agreeing in detail or purpose, 
 are creating a state of confusion in this depart¬ 
 ment of government that will soon be unbear¬ 
 able. There is no correllation among our higher 
 educational schools, and will be none under 
 present conditions. The result is duplication 
 of work and wasteful extravagance that should 
 be speedily checked. The only hope that I can 
 see for .a correction of these conditions, lies in 
 the creation of a Board of Education, and vest¬ 
 ing it with adequate powers to deal with all 
 matters educational. I realize that an honest 
 attempt on your part to deal with this subject 
 will meet with stubborn and serious opposi¬ 
 tion. Certain localities, profiting by the present 
 system, will oppose any change, and if change 
 does come, will try to so modify the law, as to 
 make it ineffective; but the interest of all the 
 people should prevail, rather than that special 
 favor should be shown to the few. Now is the 
 time to act in the matter. Delay has already 
 
seriously crippled the educational interest of 
 the State, and further delay is likely to prove 
 ruinous. 
 
 Therefore, in the interest of the five hundred 
 thousand «school children of this State, and 
 the future general welfare of the public school 
 system of Oklahoma, 1 beg you to pass a law 
 creating a. Board of Education, as the Consti¬ 
 tution provides. This Board of Education, 
 when properly clothed with authority, can work 
 out an adequate system of consolidated rural 
 high schools; a system that must prevail in 
 this State if any adequate measure of justice 
 is meted out to the rural portions of our popu¬ 
 lation. 
 
 Election Laws. 
 
 The present primary and general election 
 laws were passed by the First State Legisla¬ 
 ture; and at that time were evidently thought 
 to be adequate to the needs of the people. Two 
 unsuccessful attempts have since been made 
 to amend or modify these laws. Unmerciful 
 and unjust criticism has been hurled at these 
 laws, until deep-seated dissatisfaction prevails 
 among our people, and the demand for chang¬ 
 ing these laws comes from all classes and all 
 political parties. Too much care cannot be 
 exercised in framing a law to properly protect 
 and maintain the integrity of our elections. 
 However, I would not have you think that I 
 believe a law can possibly be drawn that will 
 meet with no criticism. No matter how perfect 
 it may be, it will find its critics immediately 
 following the first election held thereunder; 
 and these critics will, in a large measure, be 
 confined to the list of defeated candidates. It 
 has become almost a universal custom for a 
 defeated candidate to charge his defeat, either 
 to the rascality of his successful opponent, or 
 to the imperfections or unfairness of the elec¬ 
 tion law. It is rare indeed that the unsuccess¬ 
 ful candidate is willing to attribute his defeat 
 to its real cause—the desire of a majority of 
 the voters to have some other candidate than 
 himself fill the office to which he aspired. So 
 you need not hope to pass a law that will 
 escape criticism; but you can enact one that 
 will meet with the approval of a vast majority 
 of the voters of the State, and after all, it is 
 the voters’ interests that are to be looked 
 after, rather than the candidates’ desires. 
 
 In forming new election laws, or amending 
 the present laws, I suggest that you simplify 
 the laws as much as possible; writing it in as 
 little space and as clear language as you cao, 
 so that the masses can read and understand it. 
 Knowing full well that you can frame no law 
 that will not in some instances be violated, I 
 would ask that you attach severe penalties for 
 its violation, so that adequate punishment may 
 be meted out to the person who violates it. 
 
 Banking. 
 
 No radical changes are needed or demanded 
 in the banking laws of the State. Our laws 
 have been built around the fundamental idea 
 of protecting the depositor who commits the 
 safety of his money to the keeping of our State 
 bankers. We have the best law under which 
 to build a safe and sound banking institution, 
 
 that has ever been passed in the Republic. 
 
 • • • • ' • • : - . 1. • 
 
 ■' . — 9 — 
 
 : ‘>i 
 
There is one amendment, however, that I urge 
 you to make in the interest of better banking 
 conditions in the State. The real results to be 
 obtained from any law, lie in the proper admin¬ 
 istration of that law. No matter how much 
 of merit a law possesses, if it be imperfectly 
 administered, abuses are liable to prevail. The 
 present laws are under the administration of 
 a banking board, composed, ex-officio, of State 
 officials. It is no disparagement of the ability, 
 integrity or good intentions of any of these 
 officials to say that the banking interests of the 
 State would be better served if our banking 
 laws were administered by a differently con¬ 
 stituted board. These State officials have all 
 the work that they can possibly properly do, 
 attending to the duties of the office to which 
 the people have elected them, and they cannot 
 give the needed time and attention to their 
 duties as members of the banking board, with¬ 
 out seriously neglecting their other official 
 duties. 
 
 The State banking business of Oklahoma has 
 already assumed vast proportions. On Novem¬ 
 ber 10th, 1910, there were six hundred and 
 ninety-three banks, with total assets of $76,394,- 
 089.70. With such a vast aggregate of resourecs, 
 constantly increasing and touching and influ¬ 
 encing every artery of legitimate business in 
 the State, too much care cannot be exercised 
 in dealing with the subject. To handle the 
 problem safely and to the best advantage of 
 the people, men well qualified to cope with the 
 subject, and with ample time to devote thereto, 
 should be placed in charge. In the proper con¬ 
 duct of the banking intefests of the State, 
 partisan politics should have no place. It is 
 a business affair, pure and simple, and should 
 be entirely and eternally removed from the 
 realm of party politics. I therefore urge that 
 you so amend the present banking laws, as to 
 provide for the appointment of a board, con¬ 
 sisting of three members who shall have entire 
 supervision over the banking laws of the State. 
 
 - I also recommend that the law be changed, so 
 as to provide that assessments made upon 
 banks for the use of the guaranty fund, be 
 kept on deposit in the banks contributing same, 
 under terms and conditions that will insure its 
 payment on demand, when needed by. the bank¬ 
 ing board. 
 
 , Prohibition. 
 
 There can no longer be honest doubts in any 
 mind that the people of this State favor pro¬ 
 hibition. On two occasions the voice of the 
 people has unmistakably spoken in its favor. 
 It is now the duty of the Legislature and this 
 administration to see that these demands are 
 heeded. It serves no good purpose to try to 
 disguise the fact, that the enforcement of the 
 law in this State has been unsatisfactory to the 
 people. The fault, however, has not been with 
 the state administration, but with the law it¬ 
 self. The powers given the Governor have 
 been entirely inadequate. The best the Gover¬ 
 nor can do, under the present law, is to send 
 enforcement officers from one community into 
 another, to try to enforce laws that local offi¬ 
 cials fail, and, occasionally, wilfully refuse, to 
 enforce. These imported officials enter the 
 
 10— 
 
community with all the influence these local 
 officials and their friends can command, thrown 
 in their way, to hinder and obstruct them. 
 Coupled with this is the natural resentment 
 that an Oklahoman holds against the system. 
 As citizens of the two Territories prior to State 
 government, we fought so constantly against 
 the idea of imported officials, that the doctrine 
 of local self-government has become a fixed 
 principle with nearly all of us. Yet the State 
 and Legislature owe a duty to the good people 
 of this State, and the law-abiding citizens in 
 every community, no matter how much they 
 may be in the minority, are entitled to the pro¬ 
 tection of the law. If local officials fail to give 
 this protection, the State must give it; other¬ 
 wise, just and righteous government is a farce 
 and a failure. 
 
 Again I regard the present law inadequate in 
 this: We refuse the individual the right to 
 deal in intoxicating liquors, holding that the 
 same is wrong, yet in a collective capacity, we 
 have established dispensaries, where the State 
 handles these outlawed liquors, and that, too, 
 in the face of'the fact that the people of the 
 State by popular vote, declared against the dis¬ 
 pensary system. If it is wrong for an indi¬ 
 vidual to sell intoxicating liquors, it is wrong, 
 for an aggregation of individuals to sell them, 
 though you try to disguise the individuals by 
 calling them “the State.” I therefore recom¬ 
 mend that you abolish the dispensary system in 
 this State, and give the power to some respon¬ 
 sible State official to remove any officer in the 
 State, whose duty it is to enforce this law, who 
 fails or refuses to enforce it. With these 
 amendments effective, I am sure that more sat¬ 
 isfactory results will be obtained. 
 
 One of the chief hindrances to the proper 
 enforcement of this law, is the prevailing prac¬ 
 tice of gambling in the State. A large percent¬ 
 age of the violation of this law of prohibition, 
 is directly traceable to this cause. If you will 
 abolish gambling you will decrease crime fifty 
 per cent in this State. Of course, no one be¬ 
 lieves that you can pass a law that will entirely 
 stop gambling, but you can lessen the .evil. As 
 a means to this end, I recommend that you 
 make it a felony for any man to run a gambling 
 house in this State. When you have passed 
 such a lay, you have discharged your duty in the 
 matter. The responsibility for results will then 
 be placed upon other officials and the people of 
 the State who believe in law enforcement. 
 
 Reapportionment. 
 
 It will be your duty to redistrict the State 
 for Legislative, Judicial and Congressional pur¬ 
 poses. Of course, nothing can be done towards 
 establishing Congressional Districts until Con¬ 
 gress shall establish the basis of apportion¬ 
 ment, but this should not cause any delay in 
 fixing Legislative and Judicial Districts. In 
 the matter of redistricting the State for all 
 of these purposes, 1 trust, a spirit of fairness 
 will characterize your actions. No political 
 party can permanently profit by practicing 
 manifest unfairness. The history of other 
 States, teaches us that honest men, in all par¬ 
 ties resent outrageous gerrymandering. In no 
 
 —11— 
 
State in this Union are there to be found a 
 larger percentage of fair-minded people than 
 live in Oklahoma. Your duty as Representa¬ 
 tives of Ihe people, is to the entire citizenship 
 of this State, and not to any portion of that cit¬ 
 izenship. No matter how zealously we may 
 serve any political organization, if thereby we 
 fail to render just service to all the people, we 
 have failed to perform our real duty. Nor has 
 any political party the right to demand or ex¬ 
 pect that you do less than your duty to all of 
 the people. The usefulness of any political 
 party or organization, reaches its end when 
 that party ceases to be fair and just. The ma¬ 
 jority party in this State has won its triumphs 
 thus far, because it has championed the rights 
 of the people, and has dealt with uniform open¬ 
 ness and fairness with them. It will continue 
 to be the dominant party as long as it continues 
 this policy of fairness, but when it outrages 
 right, it will deserve and receive rebuke at 
 the hands of the people. 
 
 Code Commission. 
 
 Past Legislatures have appropriated thou¬ 
 sands of dollars of the people’s money in an 
 effort to obtain a sensible codification of the 
 laws of the State. That this codification is 
 necessary, is admitted by all, and no man 
 objects to a reasonable expenditure of money, 
 if the desired result is obtained. The trouble is, 
 the money has been appropriated and used, and 
 no accepted Code has been produced. It is 
 unfortunate that division arose among the mem¬ 
 bers of the Code Commission, as to the proper 
 course to be followed in the progress of that 
 work. 
 
 I am not undertaking to say who, if any one, 
 is at fault. This much I do say unhesitatingly, 
 the money expended should have produced a 
 splendid Code. It is no justification of exist¬ 
 ing conditions to say that other States have 
 spent more money for a like purpose. Other 
 ' States have frequently done things that we do 
 not care to approve. The Oklahoma spirit is to 
 do things in a proper way, and with the least 
 burden to the people. The tax payers are de¬ 
 manding to know why the work for which their 
 money has been used is not completed. They 
 have a right to make this demand and to know 
 the facts. As the representatives of the people, 
 they are expecting you to protect their interests 
 in the matter. 
 
 In a spirit of fairness to both factions of the 
 Commission, this Legislature should investi¬ 
 gate the work done, and place the responsibility 
 where it belongs. You should not stop there, 
 but you should continue your labors until a 
 Code is produced. The quarrels and disagree¬ 
 ments among the members of the Code Com¬ 
 mission are not interesting to the people; the 
 personal ambitions of these excellent gentle¬ 
 men are of no public importance. What the 
 people want and have paid for, is a satis¬ 
 factory Code, and nothing short of this will 
 satisfy them. 
 
 Court Relief. 
 
 The crowded condition of the docket of the 
 Supreme Court of the State, demands serious 
 consideration at your hands. No one will charge 
 
 —12— 
 
that the members of that Court are not doing 
 their full duty. They are all tireless workers, 
 and each is doing his utmost to relieve the con¬ 
 gestion. But there is a limitation placed upon 
 human accomplishment, beyond which, no man 
 can go. Hundreds of cases are now docketed, 
 awaiting a hearing, and the number is daily 
 increasing. 
 
 The crowded condition of the docket is a 
 potent factor in still further increasing the 
 number of appeals. The unsuccessful litigant 
 in the lower court, when he realizes that his 
 case, if appealed, cannot be reached for years, 
 is often tempted to appeal his case, in order 
 that he may delay justice. It is not unreason¬ 
 able to assert that if speedy hearing could be 
 had of all cases appealed, the number of ap¬ 
 peals would be materially reduced. 
 
 There are three remedies suggested to relieve 
 the situation. First, the addition of other mem¬ 
 bers to the court; second, the creation of a 
 temporary intermediate court, and, third, the 
 limitation of the right of appeal. To me, the 
 first proposition does not appear to offer sub¬ 
 stantial relief. At any rate, it is questionable 
 liow seven men can more quickly decide a ques¬ 
 tion than five can. The second remedy pro¬ 
 posed would give temporary relief, for whatever 
 work was given to that court would be taken 
 from the existing court, and the docket could 
 be cleared in a reasonable length of time. The 
 objection to this proposition is that it would 
 materially increase the court expenses of the 
 State, and offer no permanent relief; for as 
 soon as the court was abolished, the present 
 condition would likely return. The third rem¬ 
 edy would afford permanent relief, without 
 added cost to the people, and would not injure 
 litigants. Give final jurisdiction to District 
 Courts in all cases where the amount involved 
 does not exceed five hundred dollars, and you 
 will give permanent relief to the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 I hope there will be no serious attempt made 
 on your part to make wholesale changes in ex¬ 
 isting laws. The majority of the people of the 
 State want to see conditions become settled in 
 Oklahoma, and this can never be, as long as our 
 laws are the subject of constant change. Taken 
 as a whole, the laws of the State are admirable, 
 and the people want to see them “tried out.” 
 Where experience has shown that weakness 
 exists, that fault should be corrected, but it is 
 not fair to condemn the entire law r , because 
 there happens to be an objectionable section 
 therein. The modern tendency is to grind out 
 laws without regard to needs or results, as if 
 the merits of a Legislative body were to be 
 determined by the number of laws passed. The 
 result is, that few lawyers have a knowledge 
 of the laws, while the average citizen is com¬ 
 pletely bewildered and lost in the interminable 
 maze. Fewer laws in simpler language and 
 more readily understood, and more effectively 
 enforced, will find favor among the masses of 
 the people, and will bring into being an era of 
 prosperity and growth not hitherto known. 
 
 I trust that your deliberations will be pleas¬ 
 ant to you, and profitable to the people of the 
 
 —13— 
 
State. It will at all times, be a pleasure for 
 me to render you any assistance in my power, 
 and I trust that you will feel no hesitancy in 
 calling upon me for any information that you 
 may desire, that it is in my power to supply. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 LEE CRUCE, Governor. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 3 0112122703223 
 
 
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