Edwin P. Morrow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 40th Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office December 9, 1919 – December 11, 1923 | |
| Lieutenant | Thruston Ballard |
| Preceded by | James D. Black |
| Succeeded by | William J. Fields |
| U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky | |
| In office 1910–1913 | |
| Appointed by | William Howard Taft |
| Preceded by | James N. Sharp |
| Succeeded by | Thomas D. Slattery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 28, 1877 Somerset, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 1935(1935-06-15) (aged 57) Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Resting place | Frankfort Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Katherine Hale Waddle |
| Relations | Son ofThomas Z. Morrow Nephew ofWilliam O. Bradley |
| Alma mater | University of Cincinnati Law School (LLB) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1898–1899 |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Unit | 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Spanish–American War |
Edwin Porch Morrow (November 28, 1877 – June 15, 1935) was an American politician, who served as the40th Governor of Kentucky from 1919 to 1923. He was the onlyRepublican elected to this office between 1907 and 1927. He championed the typical Republican causes of his day, namely equal rights forAfrican-Americans and the use of force to quell violence. Morrow had been schooled in his party's principles by his father,Thomas Z. Morrow, who was its candidate for governor in 1883, and his uncle,William O. Bradley, who was elected governor in 1895. Both men were founding members of the Republican Party in Kentucky.
After rendering non-combat service in theSpanish–American War, Morrow graduated from theUniversity of Cincinnati Law School in 1902 and opened his practice inLexington, Kentucky. He made a name for himself almost immediately by securing the acquittal of a black man charged with murder based on an extorted confession and perjured testimony. He was appointedU.S. District Attorney for theEastern District of Kentucky by PresidentWilliam Howard Taft in 1910 and served until he was removed from office in 1913 by PresidentWoodrow Wilson. In 1915, he ran for governor against his good friend,Augustus O. Stanley. Stanley won the election by 471 votes, making the 1915 contest the closest gubernatorial race in the state's history.
Morrow ran for governor again in 1919. His opponent,James D. Black, had ascended to the governorship earlier that year when Stanley resigned to take a seat in theU.S. Senate. Morrow encouraged voters to "Right the Wrong of 1915" and ran on aprogressive platform that includedwomen's suffrage and quellingracial violence. He charged the Democratic administration with corruption, citing specific examples, and won the general election in a landslide. With a friendly legislature in 1920, he passed much of his agenda into law, including an anti-lynching law and reorganizing state government. He won national acclaim for preventing the lynching of a black prisoner in 1920. He was not hesitant to remove local officials who did not deter or quell mob violence. By 1922, Democrats regained control of theGeneral Assembly, and Morrow could not accomplish much in the second half of his term. Following his term as governor, he served on the United States Railroad Labor Board and the Railway Mediation Board but never again held elected office. He died of a heart attack on June 15, 1935, while living with a cousin inFrankfort.
Edwin Morrow was of Scottish descent and was born to Thomas Zanzinger and Virginia Catherine (Bradley) Morrow inSomerset, Kentucky, on November 28, 1877.[1][2] He and his twin brother, Charles, were the youngest of eight children.[3] His father was one of the founders of the Republican Party in Kentucky and an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1883.[4] His mother was a sister toWilliam O'Connell Bradley, who was elected the first Republican governor of Kentucky in 1895.[5] Morrow's great-grandfather Thomas Morrow emigrated to America from Scotland before theRevolutionary War.
Morrow's early education was in the public schools of Somerset.[5] At age 14, he entered preparatory school atSt. Mary's College nearLebanon, Kentucky.[6] He continued there throughout 1891 and 1892.[6] From there, he enrolled at Cumberland College (now theUniversity of the Cumberlands) inWilliamsburg, Kentucky, and distinguished himself in the debating society.[1] He was also interested in sports, playinghalfback on thefootball team andleft field on the baseball team.[7]
On June 24, 1898, Morrow enlisted as aprivate in the 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment for service in the Spanish–American War.[1][5][8] He was first stationed at Lexington, Kentucky, and later trained atAnniston, Alabama.[9] Due to a bout withtyphoid fever, he never saw active duty and mustered out as asecond lieutenant on February 12, 1899.[10] In 1900, he matriculated for the fall semester at the University of Cincinnati Law School.[9] He graduated with aBachelor of Laws degree in 1902.[1]
Morrow opened his practice in Lexington.[1] He established his reputation in one of his first cases—the trial of William Moseby, a black man accused of murder.[1] Moseby's first trial had ended in ahung jury, but because the evidence against him included a confession (which he later recanted), most observers believed he would be convicted in his second trial.[11] Unable to find a defense lawyer for Moseby, the judge in the case turned to Morrow, who, as a young lawyer, was eager for work.[11] Morrow proved that his client's testimony had been extorted; he had been told that a lynch mob waited outside the jail for him, but no such mob had ever existed.[12] Morrow further showed that other testimony against his client was false.[1] Moseby was acquitted on September 21, 1902.[12]
Morrow returned to Somerset in 1903.[4] There, he married Katherine Hale Waddle on June 18, 1903.[5] Waddle's father had studied law under Morrow's father, and Edwin and Katherine had been playmates, schoolmates, and later sweethearts.[13] The couple had two children, Edwina Haskell in July 1904 and Charles Robert in November 1908.[14]
In 1904, Morrow was appointedcity attorney for Somerset, serving until 1908.[4] President William Howard Taft appointed himU.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky in 1910.[5] He continued in this position until he was removed from office by PresidentWoodrow Wilson in 1913.[4][5]
Morrow's first political experience was working on his uncle William O. Bradley's gubernatorial campaign in 1895.[2] In 1899, Republican gubernatorial candidateWilliam S. Taylor offered to make Morrow hisSecretary of State in exchange for Bradley's support in the election; Bradley refused.[15] Despite the encouragement of friends, Morrow declined to run for governor in 1911.[4]
In 1912, Morrow was chosen as the Republican candidate for the Senate seat ofThomas Paynter.[16] Paynter had decided not to seek re-election, and the Democrats nominatedOllie M. James ofCrittenden County.[16] TheGeneral Assembly was heavily Democratic and united behind James.[16] On a joint ballot, James defeated Morrow by a vote of 105–28.[16] Due to the passage of theSeventeenth Amendment the following year, this was the last time the Kentucky legislature would elect a senator.[16]
At the state Republican convention in Lexington on June 15, 1915, Morrow was chosen as the Republican candidate for governor over Latt F. McLaughlin.[17][18] HisDemocratic opponent was his close friend,Augustus O. Stanley.[4] Morrow charged previous Democratic administrations with corruption and called for the election of a Republican because "You cannot clean house with a dirty broom."[19] Both men ran on progressive platforms, and the election went in Stanley's favor by only 471 votes.[4] Although it was the closest gubernatorial vote in the state's history, Morrow refused to challenge the results, which significantly increased his popularity.[17] His decision was influenced by the fact that a challenge would be decided by theGeneral Assembly, which had a Democratic majority in both houses.[20]
Morrow served as a delegate to theRepublican National Convention in1916,1920, and1928.[2] In 1919, he was chosen by acclamation as his party's candidate for governor.[17] This time, his opponent was James D. Black.[4] Black was Stanley'slieutenant governor and had ascended to the governorship in May 1919 when Stanley resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.[4]
Morrow encouraged the state's voters to "Right the Wrong of 1915".[21] He again ran on a progressive platform, advocating an amendment to thestate constitution to grant women's suffrage.[4] His support was not as strong for aprohibition amendment.[4] He attacked the Stanley–Black administration as corrupt.[4] Days before the election, he exposed a contract the state Board of Control awarded to a non-existent company.[4] HistorianLowell H. Harrison argued that Black's refusal to remove the members of the board following this revelation probably sealed his defeat.[4] Morrow won the general election by more than 40,000 votes.[4] It was the largest margin of victory for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state's history.[21]
On January 6, 1920, Governor Morrow signed the bill ratifying theNineteenth Amendment, making Kentucky the 23rd state to ratify it, and the moment is captured in a photograph with members of theKentucky Equal Rights Association. During the 1920 legislative session, the Republicans held a majority in thestate House of Representatives and were a minority by only two votes in thestate Senate.[4] During the session, Morrow was often able to convince C. W. Burton, a Democratic senator fromGrant County, to support Republican proposals.[22] Tie votes in the Senate were broken by Republican lieutenant governorS. Thruston Ballard.[22] Consequently, Morrow was able to effect a considerable reorganization of the state government, including replacing the Board of Control with a nonpartisan Board of Charities and Corrections, centralizing highway works, and revising property taxes.[4][23] He oversaw improvements to the education system, including better textbook selection and a tax on racetracks to support a minimum salary for teachers.[4][22] Among Morrow's reforms that did not pass was a proposal to make thejudiciary nonpartisan.[4]
Morrow urged enforcement of state laws againstcarrying concealed weapons and restricted activities of theKu Klux Klan.[4] During his first year in office, he granted only 100 pardons.[24] This was a considerable decrease from the number granted by his immediate predecessors. During their first years in office,J. C. W. Beckham granted 350 pardons,James B. McCreary (during his second stint as governor) granted 139, and Augustus O. Stanley granted 257.[24] He was also an active member of theCommission on Interracial Cooperation, a society for the elimination of racial violence in the South.[25]
On February 9, 1920, Morrow dispatched theKentucky National Guard to Lexington to protect Will Lockett, a black World War I veteran on trial for murder.[26] Morrow told the stateadjutant general "Do as much as you have to do to keep that negro in the hands of the law. If he falls into the hands of the mob I do not expect to see you alive."[27] Lockett had already confessed, without the benefit of a lawyer, to the murder.[26] His trial took only thirty minutes as he pleaded guilty but asked for a life sentence instead of death.[27] Despite his plea, he was sentenced to die in the electric chair.[27]
A crowd of several thousand gathered outside the courthouse while Lockett's trial was underway.[26] A cameraman asked a large group of those gathered to shake their fists and yell so he could get a picture.[28] The rest of the crowd mistakenly believed they were storming the courthouse and rushed forward.[28] In the ensuing skirmish, one policeman was injured so badly that his arm was later amputated.[29] The National Guard opened fire, killing six people and wounding approximately fifty.[28] Some members of the mob looted nearby stores in search of weapons to retaliate, but reinforcements arrived from a nearby army post by mid-afternoon.[30]Martial law was declared, and no further violence was perpetrated.[30] A month later, Lockett was executed at theKentucky State Penitentiary inEddyville.[30]
The incident is believed to be the first forceful suppression of a lynch mob by state and local officials in theSouth.[26] Morrow received a laudatory telegram from theNAACP, and most of the national press regarding the incident was favorable.W. E. B. Du Bois called it the "SecondBattle of Lexington".[29] Morrow was consistent in his use of state troops to end violence in the state. In 1922, he again dispatched the National Guard to quell amill strike inNewport.[4]
Morrow also demanded consistency from local law enforcement officials. In 1921, he removed theWoodford County jailer from office because he allowed a black inmate to be lynched and offered a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.[31] Citizens ofVersailles were more outraged that the jailer had been removed from office than that the prisoner had been lynched.[32] The locals refused to aid in the investigation, and the lynchers were never arrested or charged.[33] Local officials appointed the jailer's wife to finish his term in an attempt to skirt the removal.[34]
In August 1922, a traveling salesman named Jack Eaton was arrested for allegedlyassaulting several young girls.[34] The girls' parents refused to press charges, and Eaton was released.[34] Later, he was captured by a mob, who cut him several times and poured turpentine into his wounds.[34] An investigation found that theScott Countysheriff had willfully delivered Eaton to the mob, and Morrow removed him from office.[34] Though Eaton was a white man, blacks were elated with the removal because they hoped it would encourage other jailers to step up efforts to protect against lynchings and mob violence.[34]
Morrow was frequently mentioned as a potential candidate forvice president in 1920. Still, he withdrew his name from consideration, sticking to a campaign promise not to seek a higher office while governor. On July 27, 1920, he made a speech inNorthampton, Massachusetts, officially notifyingCalvin Coolidge of his nomination for that office. Although he supportedFrank O. Lowden for president, the nomination went toWarren G. Harding, and Morrow campaigned vigorously on behalf of his party's ticket.[35]
In his address to the 1922 legislature, Morrow asked for$50 million for improvements to the state highway system and the repeal of all laws denying equal rights to women.[4] He also recommended a largebond issue to finance improvements to the state's universities, schools, prisons, and hospitals.[36] By this time, however, the Republicans had surrendered their majority in the state House, and practically all of Morrow's proposals were voted down.[4] Morrow countered by vetoing several Democratic bills, including $700,000 in appropriations.[4][37] Among the few accomplishments of the 1922 legislature were the passage of an anti-lynching law, the abolition ofconvict labor, and the establishment of normal schools atMurray andMorehead.[28][37] Today, these schools areMurray State University andMorehead State University, respectively. The 1922 legislature also established a commission to governMy Old Kentucky Home State Park and approved construction of theJefferson Davis Monument.[37]
Although Morrow gained national praise for his handling of the Lockett trial, historianJames C. Klotter opined that he "left behind a solid, and rather typical, record for a Kentucky governor."[38] He cited Morrow's fiscal conservatism and inability to control the legislature in 1922 as reasons for his lackluster assessment. However, he praised Morrow's advancement of racial equality in the state. The state constitution prohibited Morrow from seeking a second consecutive term, and the achievements of his administration were not significant enough to ensure the election ofCharles I. Dawson, his would-be Republican successor in the gubernatorial election of 1923.[38]
Following his term as governor, Morrow retired to Somerset, where he became active in theWatchmen of the Republic, an organization devoted to eradicating prejudice and promoting tolerance.[4] He served on the United States Railroad Labor Board from 1923 to 1926 and its successor, the Railway Mediation Board, from 1926 to 1934.[4] He resigned to run for a seat in theU.S. House of Representatives representing theNinth District, but lost his party's nomination toJohn M. Robsion.[5][36]
Following his defeat in the congressional primary, Morrow planned to return to Lexington to resume his law practice.[36] On June 15, 1935, he died unexpectedly of a heart attack while temporarily living with a cousin in Frankfort.[36] He is buried inFrankfort Cemetery.[2]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of Kentucky 1919–1923 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee for Governor of Kentucky 1915,1919 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
