James B. McCreary

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James B. McCreary : biography

July 8, 1838 – October 8, 1918

Second term as governor and death

Despite Beckham’s move to unseat McCreary in the Senate, the two were once again allies by 1911, when Beckham supported the aging McCreary for the party’s gubernatorial nomination. It is unclear whether McCreary sought the reconciliation in order to secure the gubernatorial nomination or Beckham made amends with McCreary because he thought he could control McCreary’s actions as governor. In the Democratic primary, McCreary defeated William Adams by a majority of 25,000 votes.Burckel in Register, p. 298

Republicans nominated Judge Edward C. O’Rear to oppose McCreary. There were few differences between the two men’s stands on the issues. Both supported progressive reforms such as the direct election of senators, a non-partisan judiciary, and the creation of a public utilities commission.Klotter, pp. 218–219 McCreary also changed his stance on the liquor question, now agreeing with Beckham’s prohibitionist position; this also matched the Republican position.Klotter, p. 219 O’Rear claimed that Democrats should have already enacted the reforms their party platform advocated, but his only ready line of attack against McCreary himself was that he would be a pawn of Beckham and his allies.Burckel in Register, p. 299

McCreary pointed out that O’Rear had been nominated at a party nominating convention instead of winning a primary, though O’Rear claimed to support primary elections. He also criticized O’Rear for continuing to receive his salary as a judge while running for governor. McCreary cited what he called the Republicans’ record of "assassination, bloodshed, and disregard of law", an allusion to the assassination of William Goebel in the aftermath of the 1899 gubernatorial contest. Caleb Powers, convicted three times of being an accessory to Goebel’s murder, had been pardoned by Republican governor Augustus Willson and had recently been elected to Congress. He further attacked the tariff policies of Republican President William H. Taft. In the general election, McCreary won a decisive victory, garnering 226,771 votes to O’Rear’s 195,435. Several other minor party candidates also received votes, including Socialist candidate Walter Lanfersiek, who claimed 8,718 votes (2 percent of the total).

Construction of the new governor’s mansion

One of McCreary’s first acts as governor was signing a bill appropriating $75,000 for the construction of a new governor’s mansion. The legislature appointed a commission of five, including McCreary, to oversee the mansion’s construction. The governor exercised a good deal of influence over the process, including the replacement of a conservatory with a ballroom in the construction plan and the selection of a contractor from his hometown of Richmond as assistant superintendent of construction. Changing societal trends also affected construction. A hastily constructed stable to house horse-drawn carriages was soon abandoned in favor of a garage for automobiles.Clark and Lane, pp. 89, 93

The mansion was completed in 1914. Because McCreary was widowed before his second term in office, his granddaughter, Harriet Newberry McCreary, served as the mansion’s first hostess during her summer vacations from her studies at Wellesley College. When Harriet McCreary was away at college, McCreary’s housekeeper, Jennie Shaw, served as hostess. McCreary authorized the state to sell the old mansion at auction, but the final bid of $13,600 was rejected as unfair by the mansion commission.Clark and Lane, pp. 80–81, 84

Progressive reforms

Among the progressive reforms advocated by McCreary and passed in the 1912 legislative session were making women eligible to vote in school board elections, mandating direct primary elections, and allowing the state’s counties to hold local option elections to decide whether or not to adopt prohibition. McCreary appointed a tax commission to study the revenue system, and the Board of Assessments and Valuation made a more realistic appraisal of corporate property. McCreary created executive departments to oversee state banking and highways, and a bipartisan vote in the General Assembly established the Kentucky Public Service Commission.Burckel in Register, p. 302 Near the close of the session, McCreary County was created and named in the governor’s honor. It was the last of Kentucky’s 120 counties to be constituted.Klotter, p. 220