Okla-homey
2/29/2008, 08:45 AM
February 29, 1932: "Alfalfa" Bill Murray on cover of Time
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/46686/2001000056911294737_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001000056911294737)
Governor William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray
79 years ago, on this day in 1932, one of the most colorful western politicians of his era, William "Alfalfa" Murray makes the cover of Time magazine after announcing his long-shot candidacy for the Presidency.
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/46397/2001087413432914797_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001087413432914797)
Murray was born in poverty near Toadsuck, Texas, (later renamed Collinsville) in 1869. Murray left home and struck out on his own at age 12. Murray dabbled in a variety of careers before finally settling on law. He passed the Texas bar in 1895, and practiced for a while in Ft. Worth. In 1898, he lit out for Oklahoma Territory and opened a law office in Tishomingo. In Oklahoma, he earned his odd nickname by establishing a successful farm renowned for its alfalfa.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/46483/2001049778229186221_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001049778229186221)
Miss Oklahoma State University knee deep in alfalfa. The stuff isn't much good for people food, but it's excellent livestock fodder and grows well in Oklahoma's red dirt.
Murray also developed a passionate interest in Democrat politics and played a major role in creating the new Oklahoma state constitution in 1906. The following year he won election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he became its speaker.
In 1916, Murray took an unpopular stand against American preparations for war in Europe that brought an abrupt and seemingly permanent end to his political career. Falling back on his farming skillz, he founded an agricultural colony of U.S. citizens in Bolivia that nearly bankrupted him.
When he returned to the U.S. in 1929, though, the political landscape had changed to his benefit. The beginning of the Great Depression pushed many Americans to look for unorthodox solutions for their problems, and Murray suggested several improbable plans to help the nation escape economic depression.
Campaigning for Oklahoma governor in 1930, Murray portrayed himself as a protector of the working man. His demagogic promises of "change" and thinly veiled insinuations he intended to take from the rich give to the poor won him the election among Sooners hit hard by the Depression.
http://aycu21.webshots.com/image/46180/2004635857267970259_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004635857267970259)
Rothstein, Arthur. "Farmer and sons walking in the face of a dust storm. Cimarron County, Oklahoma." April 1936. America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945, Library of Congress
Due to the severity of the Depression, Murray relied on the Oklahoma National Guard to enforce the state’s laws through the use of martial law. Murray did this in-spite of impeachment threats from the Oklahoma Senate. During his tenure as governor, Murray would call out the guard and charge then with duties ranging from policing ticket sales at OU football games to patrolling the oil fields.
One of Murray’s most famous usages of the Guard came during the “Toll Bridge War” between Oklahoma and Texas. A joint project to build a free bridge across the Red River turned into a major dispute when the Governor of Texas blocked traffic from entering his state on the new bridge.
The Red River Bridge Company of Texas owned the original toll bridge. The company claimed the state had to buy their toll bridge since the new free bridge would put the toll bridge out of business. The toll bridge company sued in federal court and got an injunction ordering the closure of the new free bridge until it could all be sorted out by the court. As a result, the governor of Texas shut down the free bridge. At that, Alfalfa Bill went ballistic!
http://aycu35.webshots.com/image/45554/2001085112199849692_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001085112199849692)
A Texas Ranger bars use of the new free bridge in 1931.
Murray sent the Guard down to force the opening to resume in July of 1931. Texas was eventually forced to stand down once it was determined that Oklahoma actually had jurisdiction over both banks of the river.
Murray’s most contentious use of the military came from oil production restraining. Despite the vast quantity and newly opened wells in Texas and Oklahoma, Alfalfa Bill thought oil producers still charged too much for oil.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/45016/2001010266441596800_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001010266441596800)
Alfalfa Bill's upbraiding of fat cat oil men resulted in their great disdain for the skinny governor from Toadsuck. Today, in the newly refurbished Skirvin Hotel in OKC, there remains an original gargoyle that pokes fun at the nemesis of the Okie oil barons
Murray, along with three other Governors, met in Fort Worth, Texas to demand lower prices. When the Oklahoma producers did not comply, on August 4, 1931, Murray called out the Guard, declared martial law, and ordered some 3,000 oil wells be shut down.
To further demonstrate his commitment to the impoverished, he allowed the unemployed to grow potatoes on the grounds of the governor's mansion. In 1932, he made an improbable bid for the presidency, promising to provide "Bread, Butter, Bacon, and Beans" to every hungry American.
More a publicity stunt than a serious bid for the presidency, Murray's candidacy nonetheless landed him on the cover of Time magazine on this day in 1932. As one of the dozens of regional demagogic politicians that gained national prominence in the Depression years, Murray's political agenda was eventually overshadowed by Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal."
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/46602/2005395862292102338_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005395862292102338)
"The Kingfish," Gov. Huey Long of Louisiana was an equally contentious "champion of the common man" and demagogue during the era. Long created the "Share Our Wealth" program in 1934, with the motto "Every Man a King," proposing new wealth redistribution measures in the form of a net asset tax on large corporations and individuals of great wealth to curb the poverty and crime resulting from the Great Depression.
Again failing to win re-election in 1934, Murray spent the remainder of his life attempting a political comeback and writing angry denunciations of FDR and the New Deal.
Murray’s legacy would continue in his son, Johnston Murray. Johnston was not only a fellow Democrat but would also follow in his father’s footsteps to serve as Governor. On January 9, 1951, Murray delivered the oath of office to his son as he was inaugurated as the fourteenth Governor of Oklahoma.
http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/44879/2001012244970105842_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001012244970105842)
Alfalfa Bill's boy Gov. Johnston Murray
Murray would not live long past his son’s governorship. Murray died on October 15, 1956. He is buried in Tishomingo.
In 1972, the Oklahoma Legislature changed the name of a state college to Murray State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, in honor of the former governor. "Murray in Tish" (M.I.T.) is of course located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.
http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/45190/2004651377383231731_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004651377383231731)
The "Flame of Knowledge" at M.I.T.
http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/44879/2001019570458867636_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001019570458867636)
Murray County is also named for Alfalfa Bill, as is popular man-made lake just south of Ardmore.
http://aycu39.webshots.com/image/45638/2001018998802639504_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001018998802639504)
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/46433/2001009996702038321_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001009996702038321)
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/46686/2001000056911294737_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001000056911294737)
Governor William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray
79 years ago, on this day in 1932, one of the most colorful western politicians of his era, William "Alfalfa" Murray makes the cover of Time magazine after announcing his long-shot candidacy for the Presidency.
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/46397/2001087413432914797_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001087413432914797)
Murray was born in poverty near Toadsuck, Texas, (later renamed Collinsville) in 1869. Murray left home and struck out on his own at age 12. Murray dabbled in a variety of careers before finally settling on law. He passed the Texas bar in 1895, and practiced for a while in Ft. Worth. In 1898, he lit out for Oklahoma Territory and opened a law office in Tishomingo. In Oklahoma, he earned his odd nickname by establishing a successful farm renowned for its alfalfa.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/46483/2001049778229186221_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001049778229186221)
Miss Oklahoma State University knee deep in alfalfa. The stuff isn't much good for people food, but it's excellent livestock fodder and grows well in Oklahoma's red dirt.
Murray also developed a passionate interest in Democrat politics and played a major role in creating the new Oklahoma state constitution in 1906. The following year he won election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he became its speaker.
In 1916, Murray took an unpopular stand against American preparations for war in Europe that brought an abrupt and seemingly permanent end to his political career. Falling back on his farming skillz, he founded an agricultural colony of U.S. citizens in Bolivia that nearly bankrupted him.
When he returned to the U.S. in 1929, though, the political landscape had changed to his benefit. The beginning of the Great Depression pushed many Americans to look for unorthodox solutions for their problems, and Murray suggested several improbable plans to help the nation escape economic depression.
Campaigning for Oklahoma governor in 1930, Murray portrayed himself as a protector of the working man. His demagogic promises of "change" and thinly veiled insinuations he intended to take from the rich give to the poor won him the election among Sooners hit hard by the Depression.
http://aycu21.webshots.com/image/46180/2004635857267970259_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004635857267970259)
Rothstein, Arthur. "Farmer and sons walking in the face of a dust storm. Cimarron County, Oklahoma." April 1936. America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945, Library of Congress
Due to the severity of the Depression, Murray relied on the Oklahoma National Guard to enforce the state’s laws through the use of martial law. Murray did this in-spite of impeachment threats from the Oklahoma Senate. During his tenure as governor, Murray would call out the guard and charge then with duties ranging from policing ticket sales at OU football games to patrolling the oil fields.
One of Murray’s most famous usages of the Guard came during the “Toll Bridge War” between Oklahoma and Texas. A joint project to build a free bridge across the Red River turned into a major dispute when the Governor of Texas blocked traffic from entering his state on the new bridge.
The Red River Bridge Company of Texas owned the original toll bridge. The company claimed the state had to buy their toll bridge since the new free bridge would put the toll bridge out of business. The toll bridge company sued in federal court and got an injunction ordering the closure of the new free bridge until it could all be sorted out by the court. As a result, the governor of Texas shut down the free bridge. At that, Alfalfa Bill went ballistic!
http://aycu35.webshots.com/image/45554/2001085112199849692_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001085112199849692)
A Texas Ranger bars use of the new free bridge in 1931.
Murray sent the Guard down to force the opening to resume in July of 1931. Texas was eventually forced to stand down once it was determined that Oklahoma actually had jurisdiction over both banks of the river.
Murray’s most contentious use of the military came from oil production restraining. Despite the vast quantity and newly opened wells in Texas and Oklahoma, Alfalfa Bill thought oil producers still charged too much for oil.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/45016/2001010266441596800_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001010266441596800)
Alfalfa Bill's upbraiding of fat cat oil men resulted in their great disdain for the skinny governor from Toadsuck. Today, in the newly refurbished Skirvin Hotel in OKC, there remains an original gargoyle that pokes fun at the nemesis of the Okie oil barons
Murray, along with three other Governors, met in Fort Worth, Texas to demand lower prices. When the Oklahoma producers did not comply, on August 4, 1931, Murray called out the Guard, declared martial law, and ordered some 3,000 oil wells be shut down.
To further demonstrate his commitment to the impoverished, he allowed the unemployed to grow potatoes on the grounds of the governor's mansion. In 1932, he made an improbable bid for the presidency, promising to provide "Bread, Butter, Bacon, and Beans" to every hungry American.
More a publicity stunt than a serious bid for the presidency, Murray's candidacy nonetheless landed him on the cover of Time magazine on this day in 1932. As one of the dozens of regional demagogic politicians that gained national prominence in the Depression years, Murray's political agenda was eventually overshadowed by Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal."
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/46602/2005395862292102338_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005395862292102338)
"The Kingfish," Gov. Huey Long of Louisiana was an equally contentious "champion of the common man" and demagogue during the era. Long created the "Share Our Wealth" program in 1934, with the motto "Every Man a King," proposing new wealth redistribution measures in the form of a net asset tax on large corporations and individuals of great wealth to curb the poverty and crime resulting from the Great Depression.
Again failing to win re-election in 1934, Murray spent the remainder of his life attempting a political comeback and writing angry denunciations of FDR and the New Deal.
Murray’s legacy would continue in his son, Johnston Murray. Johnston was not only a fellow Democrat but would also follow in his father’s footsteps to serve as Governor. On January 9, 1951, Murray delivered the oath of office to his son as he was inaugurated as the fourteenth Governor of Oklahoma.
http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/44879/2001012244970105842_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001012244970105842)
Alfalfa Bill's boy Gov. Johnston Murray
Murray would not live long past his son’s governorship. Murray died on October 15, 1956. He is buried in Tishomingo.
In 1972, the Oklahoma Legislature changed the name of a state college to Murray State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, in honor of the former governor. "Murray in Tish" (M.I.T.) is of course located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.
http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/45190/2004651377383231731_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004651377383231731)
The "Flame of Knowledge" at M.I.T.
http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/44879/2001019570458867636_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001019570458867636)
Murray County is also named for Alfalfa Bill, as is popular man-made lake just south of Ardmore.
http://aycu39.webshots.com/image/45638/2001018998802639504_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001018998802639504)
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/46433/2001009996702038321_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001009996702038321)