William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray
From Oklahoma
Template:Infobox Governor William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray (November 21, 1869 – October 15, 1956) was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who served as a Congressman representing Oklahoma in the U.S. House and would serve as Oklahoma’s first Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and ninth Governor of Oklahoma.
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Early life
William Henry Davis Murray was born in Collinsville, Texas on November 21, 1869. Unfortunately for Murray, his mother died when he was only two years old and after his father remarried his family moved to Montague, Texas. At the age of twelve, Murray left home. The majority of Murray’s adolescence was spent working on farms during the summer and attending public schools in the winter. Murray would work hard and be admitted to the College Hill Institute in Springtown, Texas.
After gradating from College Hill with a teaching degree in 1879, Murray would hold several jobs, including teacher, book seller, and an author for the Fort Worth Gazette. While at College Hill, Murray took an interest in law. Passing the Texas bar exam in 1885, Murray practiced law in Fort Worth, Texas until 1898 when he moved to Tishomingo, Indian Territory.
Upon arriving to Tishomingo, Murray discovered the city to be the capital of the Chickasaw Nation. Murray’s legal knowledge and colorful personality earn him the position of legal advisor to the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, Douglas H. Johnston. Murray would marry Johnston’s niece: Mary Alice Hearrell. Not only did Murray practice law in Tishomingo he also learned many aspects of the farmer’s life.
Murray acquired his famous "Alfalfa" nickname around 1902 when he was a political operative for Oklahoma Territory gubernatorial candidate Palmer S. Moseley. Murray developed the habit of giving talks to local farmers about politics and farming. During the discussion, Murray would frequently talk on a large tract of alfalfa he had cultivated. An observer of one of Murray's speeches, Arthur Sinclair, reported to the editor of the Tishomingo Capital-Democrat that he had just witnessed "Alfalfa Bill" deliver one of his finest speeches. The name stuck with Murray for the rest of his life.
Indian Politics
Murray’s closeness to Governor Johnston would benefit him in his political career. By 1903, talk of an Indian state, the State of Sequoyah, was being heard and the Five Civilized Tribes were gathering to write the state’s Constitution. Governor Johnston appointed Murray to represent the Chickasaws at the convention which was being held in 1905 at the Creek Nation capital of Muskogee.
The convention was held on August 21, 1905 to draft the Constitution. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent save two: Murray and Charles N. Haskell. After the proposed Constitution was written, the citizens of the Five Tribes overwhelmingly supported it. Unfortunately US President Theodore Roosevelt refused to allow it be accepted by the United States Congress. Roosevelt would only allow the two territories of Indian and Oklahoma to be joined as one state: the State of Oklahoma.
In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Murray was elected as the delegate representing District 104, which included Tishomingo, at the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. Traveling to Guthrie and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would again meet such men as Charles N. Haskell and Robert L. Williams. Murray would gain a life-long friendship and alliance with Haskell through their work together on the Constitution.
Due to his experience in Indian politics, Murray was selected as the President of the Convention. Despite this, Murray kept Haskell close to him. Haskell, as one news paper reported, was the “power behind the throne.” Together, the two men controlled the Convention and created not only one of the most progressive Constitution of all the state constitutions but also the longest governing document in the world.
Oklahoma Politics
Following the adoption of the final draft of the Oklahoma Constitution, candidates began announcing their candidacy throughout the state. Murray would run and be elected on the Democratic ticket to serve in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. From out of all the newly elected Representatives, Murray was selected by his fellow House members to serve as the state’s first Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Haskell, a fellow Democrat, would also run and be elected to serve as the first Governor of Oklahoma.
On November 16, 1907, President Roosevelt accepted the Oklahoma Constitution and Oklahoma was admitted to the Union as the 46th state. On the same day, Murray was inaugurated as the Speaker of the Oklahoma House, a position in which he often opposed the progressive work of Commissioner of Charities and Corrections Kate Barnard and where he pushed for Jim Crow laws. Murray would serve in that position from 1907 to 1908. After leaving office, he would seek election in 1912 to represent Oklahoma’s 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. After a single term, Murray would represent Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional district.
Leaving national politics behind him, in 1918, Murray placed his name in the Democratic primaries to serve as the fourth Governor of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, Murray was defeated by James B. A. Robertson, who would later be elected to the office. Murray was forced to return to private law practice back in Tishomingo. While in private practice, however, Murray led a colony of Oklahoma ranchers with farming interest to Bolivia in 1929. Murray left Bolivia early in order to return to Oklahoma to file for the Governorship.
Governor of Oklahoma
Winning the Democratic nomination, Murray would go on to win the election by over 100,000 votes, the largest majority in state history. Inaugurated as the ninth Governor of Oklahoma on January 12, 1931, Murray would face the harsh problems of the Great Depression. Under the previous Governor, William J. Holloway, the state government had accumulated a deficit of over $5,000,000 (over $60,000,000 in modern dollars) fighting the Depression.
Mass unemployment, mortgage foreclosures, the deficit, and bank failures haunted Murray’s administration and he would take steps to fight them. The Oklahoma Legislature appropriate, in 1931, Murray $600,000 to provide for emergency necessities. Through money collected from state employees, businessmen, and even his own salary, Murray would finance programs to feed Oklahoma’s poor. At this time in American history, no federal relief program had been instituted. Murray became a national leader for the victims of the Depression, calling for a national council for relief to be held at Memphis, Tennessee in June of 1931.
The government of Oklahoma faced failure, not only because of the massive deficit, but because many of Oklahoma’s citizens lacked the means to pay their debts. In order to speed the collection of funds, at Murray’s urging, the Legislature created the Oklahoma Tax Commission. This three member commission was responsible for the collection and administration of taxes, licenses and fees of all Oklahomans. The new agency established safeguards against tax evasion and helped to stem the drain on the state’s tax revenue.
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 University of Oklahoma 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. The previous administration of Governor Holloway had set about acquiring toll bridges over the Red River. The Governor of Texas had stopped construction of the bridges due to a boarder dispute. However, Murray sent the Guard down to force construction to resume in July of 1931.
Murray’s most vivid use of the military came from oil production restraining. Despite the vast quantity and newly opened wells in Texas and Oklahoma, oil producers still charged too much for oil. 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.
During Murray’s administration, Oklahoma would suffer its first great morale blow. On July 5, 1933, Oklahoma would lose one of its founding fathers. Murray’s life long friend and first Governor of Oklahoma Charles N. Haskell passed from this world. Murray would never be the same.
By the end of his administration in 1935, Murray had called out the National Guard forty-seven times and had declared martial law over thirty times. Murray officially left office on January 15, 1935 with the inauguration of Ernest W. Marland as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.
Late Life and Death
During his tenure in office, Murray would place his name in the primaries to run for President of the United States in 1932. Murray would lose the Democratic Party’s nomination to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. With the coming of the Great Depression, FDR instituted his New Deal programs. Murray, though originally in favor, turned against the New Deal as most Oklahoma politicians did.
After his retirement, Murray would become known as a radical racist and conspiracy theorist. Murray would also write articles and books dealing with constitutional rights. In his books, Murray seemed to indicate his support for fascism.
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 would deliver the oath of office to his son as he was inaugurated as the fourteenth Governor of Oklahoma.
Murray would not live long past his son’s governorship. Murray would die on October 15, 1956. He would be buried in Tishomingo. Murray would be the last member of the Haskell Dynasty.
In 1972, the Oklahoma Legislature changed the name of Murray State College of Agriculture and Applied Science to Murray State College--in honor of the former governor. The community college is located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.
State of the State Speeches
Sources
- Sooner State Genealogy entry
- State biography
- Alfalfa Nation entry
- The Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma "William H. Murray Collection"
- Murray State College Home Page
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