DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Reuben Gaines' memoir, undated

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Page 36

Page 36 Buxton.
George H. Woodson the most prominite and succesful lawyer in Buxton met W. T. Vernon a black political man who was, Registrar Of the Treasury of the United States in a Hotel In DesMoines, Iowa. From what I gathered from their conversation was the potentionality that W. T. Vernon was trying to impress on Woodson so that we might advance faster by joining the Political Ranks. So in 1909 Woodson threw his hat in the Republican Political Ring to represent the District in Monroe County for a seat in the Iowa House. This man Vernon was not an ordinary individual for his name was on all the paper money that was issued during his term in office which was several years; but since that time the term "registare" has been eliminated for it does not appear on paper money anymore. 
Woodson Campaigned constantly and I drove him around to quite a few places in my Automobile. The support and pledges he got in the Primary was beyound his expectation, so he won over all opposition by a land slide; so now when the General Election comes up it looks as if it is a straight path to the Iowa House. There is a corruption that never heals in Politicks and in this case there was no exception. In the primary Woodson got practilly all the republican votes and half of the Democrates and in the general election Woodson was defeated as badly as he had won in the primary; so the republicans switched over with the democrates to elect the canidate of their choice. In 1909 it it was yet too early to elect a black man to that position. 
Perhaps everybody has heard about the Consolidation Coal Co. hold up out hear 18 or 19 mine which failed but nobody seems to remember anything about the Car load of men from Chicago that tried to burn the doors off of the Vault situated in the South east corner of the Monroe Mercantile store where the steel box was located with a quarter millions dollars which was to be distributed to the miners the next day. Peter Reevers and another man were securitie guards so the robbers tied them up and had most of the nite to cut through the door but they had a bad tank of gas and had to give up and leave for time was running out and day light would soon appear. 
In the early part of 1900 my father let B. F. Cooper store his whole stock of drugs that had been brought from Muchakinock in our barn up in the Hay-loft but my Uncle George and Noah Welsh had found out about those store drugs so they made intermittent raids on those drugs being mostly interested in Whiskey and Alcohol. They had stolen so much that the Liquor was getting scarce. On this day when they were searching they brought a friend with them. This friend was a white man that lived about a mile or two beyound Bethel Church on the highway to Oskaloosa. He was a Carpenter that had been working for my father for several weeks. I had seen him two or three times but I never knew his name. My Uncle George was not much of a student and perhaps never finished

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Page 36 Buxton. George H. Woodson the most prominite and succesful lawyer in Buxton met W. T. Vernon a black political man who was, Registrar Of the Treasury of the United States in a Hotel In DesMoines, Iowa. From what I gathered from their conversation was the potentionality that W. T. Vernon was trying to impress on Woodson so that we might advance faster by joining the Political Ranks. So in 1909 Woodson threw his hat in the Republican Political Ring to represent the District in Monroe County for a seat in the Iowa House. This man Vernon was not an ordinary individual for his name was on all the paper money that was issued during his term in office which was several years; but since that time the term "registare" has been eliminated for it does not appear on paper money anymore. Woodson Campaigned constantly and I drove him around to quite a few places in my Automobile. The support and pledges he got in the Primary was beyound his expectation, so he won over all opposition by a land slide; so now when the General Election comes up it looks as if it is a straight path to the Iowa House. There is a corruption that never heals in Politicks and in this case there was no exception. In the primary Woodson got practilly all the republican votes and half of the Democrates and in the general election Woodson was defeated as badly as he had won in the primary; so the republicans switched over with the democrates to elect the canidate of their choice. In 1909 it it was yet too early to elect a black man to that position. Perhaps everybody has heard about the Consolidation Coal Co. hold up out hear 18 or 19 mine which failed but nobody seems to remember anything about the Car load of men from Chicago that tried to burn the doors off of the Vault situated in the South east corner of the Monroe Mercantile store where the steel box was located with a quarter millions dollars which was to be distributed to the miners the next day. Peter Reevers and another man were securitie guards so the robbers tied them up and had most of the nite to cut through the door but they had a bad tank of gas and had to give up and leave for time was running out and day light would soon appear. In the early part of 1900 my father let B. F. Cooper store his whole stock of drugs that had been brought from Muchakinock in our barn up in the Hay-loft but my Uncle George and Noah Welsh had found out about those store drugs so they made intermittent raids on those drugs being mostly interested in Whiskey and Alcohol. They had stolen so much that the Liquor was getting scarce. On this day when they were searching they brought a friend with them. This friend was a white man that lived about a mile or two beyound Bethel Church on the highway to Oskaloosa. He was a Carpenter that had been working for my father for several weeks. I had seen him two or three times but I never knew his name. My Uncle George was not much of a student and perhaps never finished