Ohio History Journal

OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS.

 

BY THE EDITOR.

 

"KENTUCKY-MOTHER OF UNITED STATES SENA-

TORS AND REPRESENTATIVES."

This is the title of valuable compilation by A. C. Quisen-

berry published in The Register of the Kentucky State Historical

Society for January, 1920. It appears from this that Kentucky

has given to other states sixty-one United States senators and

one hundred fifty-one represensatives in Congress, making a

total of two hundred twelve.  Deducting names duplicated,

ninety-one in number, there remain one hundred twenty-one dif-

ferent persons from Kentucky who served other states in the

United States Congress. Those who served Ohio in the Senate

were Alexander Campbell, Thomas Corwin and William A.

Trimble. Those who served our state in the House of Represen-

tatives were Moses B. Corwin, Thomas Corwin, Tom L. John-

son, John McLean, William McLean, Wilson Shannon, Joe B.

Stevenson and James January Winans. All of the foregoing

were born in Kentucky except Shannon who was born in Ohio

and educated in Kentucky. It seems that that state claims to be

mother to all the Congressmen that lived any considerable time

within her borders and afterwards represented other states.

This makes the figures quoted appear somewhat less impressive,

but after a further deduction is made for those born in other

states than Kentucky the list is a long one and entitles Kentucky

to her claim of "Mother of United States Senators and Repre-

sentatives." A like contribution for the QUARTERLY setting forth

Ohio's claim to a similar distinction would be timely in view

of our approach to the distinguished title of "Mother of Presi-

dents."

(556)

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.           557

 

"THE OHIO WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION LAW."

Since the publication of the QUARTERLY for January, 1920,

frequent complaints have been made by the representatives of

one of the dominant political parties in regard to the article en-

titled "The Ohio Workmen's Compensation Law." It has been

charged that the author of that article, Mr. Mengert, is a par-

tisan; that he has not stated fairly the leading facts in regard

to the attitude of prominent public men toward the law; that

the views of former Governor Frank B. Willis, now United

States Senator, and Governor James M. Cox are not fairly

presented; that the article in fact is political propaganda in the

interest of a party and its prominent leader; that due credit has

not been given former Governor Harmon for his influence in

the inauguration of workmen's compensation in Ohio; that

Governor Cox was not originally in favor of the state monopoly

feature of the present law; that workmen's compensation was

not an important issue in the gubernatorial campaign in 1914;

that both Cox and Willis and their respective parties favored

workmen's compensation in that campaign; that the favorable

attitude of Governor Willis toward the law through his adminis-

tration has not been fairly shown in the article. The complaints

have come from individual Republicans and those connected

with the state organization of that party. They have said that

while they have not brought political discussion into this publica-

tion and do not desire to do so, they are unwilling, without pro-

test, to have the article on "The Ohio Workmen's Compensation

Law" written down for the perusal of the present and future

generations in a publication of the dignity and authority of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

The Editor wishes to state in this connection that the article

in question was published in the interval between his appoint-

ment as Secretary and the death of his predecessor, Honorable

E. O. Randall. The Society was without a Secretary and the

QUARTERLY without an Editor when the article was published.

Workmen's compensation in Ohio has been a subject of

partisan controversy since the year 1912. The literature issued

by the campaign committees of both parties teems with charges

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558       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

and counter-charges on issues growing out of this subject. Those

interested are referred to this literature and the newspapers for

the attitude of men and parties toward workmen's compensation.

No good purpose can be subserved by the publication in the

QUARTERLY of the views of representatives of political parties on

this subject. It should be sufficient to record here the fact that

a protest has been made. The Society desires the interest and

support of prominent Ohioans of all parties. The QUARTERLY

cannot afford to devote its space to matters of current political

controversy. If a mistake has been made in this matter in the

past it cannot be corrected now by repetition. We are sure that

upon mature consideration this will be the view of members of

our Society and of all persons interested in its work or in the

controversy to which we have felt it necessary to make this

reference.

JOSEPH S. BENHAM.

Joseph S. Benham was an eminent lawyer of Cincinnati at

the time of Lafayette's visit to that city. His fame preceded

that event by a number of years. It is celebrated in Horace in

Cincinnati which was published in 1824. In this poem he is re-

ferred to as follows:

 

With person of gigantic size,

With thund'ring voice, and piercing eyes,

When great Stentorius deigns to rise,

Adjacent crowds assemble,

To hear a sage the laws expound,

In language strong, by reasoning sound.

Till, though yet not guilty found,

The culprits fear and tremble.

 

He was an orator of impressive power and personality.

Levasseur paid fitting tribute to the address of Benham on the

occasion of Lafayette's visit to Cincinnati. References to the

eloquent advocate are found in The Centennial History of Cin-

cinnati, page 629, in Carter's Reminiscences and Anecdotes of

the Courts and the Bar pages 38-41 and in Masfield's Personal

Memories pages 164-165.

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.             559

He was a Kentuckian by birth and his daughter became the

wife of George D. Prentice, the gifted editor and writer of

Louisville, Kentucky.

 

HONORS AWARDED TO OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

MEN.

The following announcement in a local paper is of general

interest. We are pleased to note that our state archaeologist is

included in the honor roll:

"Membership in the Ohio State University chapter of Phi

Beta Kappa, honorary scholastic fraternity, has been conferred

upon ten Ohio State alumni, distinguished for their literary,

artistic or humanitarian work. They include, Charles Magee

Adams, B. A. Milford, editor of The Valley Enterprise of Mil-

ford and contributor to national magazines although totally blind;

Frank Bohn, Ph. D., New York, writer on socialism, member of

the foreign branch of the United States committee on public

information and representative of the Socialist party at the

Berne conference; Thomas H. Dickinson, Pelham, N. Y., author

and dramatist; Thomas E. French, M. E., Columbus, professor

of engineering drawing at Ohio State and winner of prizes in

exhibitions of American Bookplate society; Robert F. Griggs,

Columbus, Ph. D., explorer of the Valley of Ten Thousand

Smokes in Alaska, professor of botany at Ohio State and mem-

ber of staff of National Geographic magazine; Dr. Roy D. Mc-

Clure, surgeon-in-chief of Henry Ford hospital, Detroit, and

author of articles on medical subjects; Charles F. Marvin, M.

E., Washington, chief of the United States weather bureau, in-

ventor of meteorological instruments and author of articles on

weather topics; William C. Mills, M. S., Columbus, curator of

Ohio Archaeological and Historical museum and author of works

on archaeological subjects, and Dr. Harry H. Snively, M. A.,

Columbus, who served in Russia before the war, fought typhus

for American Red Cross in central Europe and served as major

in the United States Army."

 

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly for October, 1920,

contains a carefully prepared article on "The Hayes Adminis-

tration and Mexico." This is of Ohio interest because it sets

forth the attitude of an Ohio President pending the firm estab-

lishment of Diaz at the outset of his long domination over the

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560       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. affairs of our sister republic south of the Rio Grande. We are all more or less familiar with the Mexican troubles under the administration of President Wilson but the serious difficulties that confronted our government in dealing with a distressing and delicate situation in that quarter when Hayes was president have been in a measure forgotten.    It is worth while that they be recalled at this time. Mr. H. R. Mengert desires to have added to his article on "The Ohio Workmen's Compensation Law" the following note: "The United States Supreme Court finally settled the case to which reference has been made when a decision was rendered in the Thornton litigation upholding the Ohio Supreme Court in a ruling that the initiated act of 1917 is constitutional and that it prohibits continuation of indemnity contracts for the repayment of awards paid by insuring employers who carry their own risks. The decision finally ended the business of a few liability insurance companies protecting some 675 employers. It was a final victory for the workmen's compensation law." The Secretary of the Ohio Historical Commission, Mr. W. Farrand Felch, has prepared a very complete resume of his work for the past year. The Civil War Historian, Colonel W. L. Curry, has presented a brief report.  In a future issue of the QUARTERLY we hope to give a summary of the work of each.

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