'Tulsa World Curls the Hair on the Oklahoma Legislature' in 1913 | Only in Oklahoma (2024)

The Oklahoma House was "stirred" by an article in the Tulsa World, according to a big headline in the Feb. 15, 1913, newspaper, and legislators were accused of trying to shut off freedom of the press.

A subhead resorted to the colorful language of the day: "Tulsa World Curls the Hair on the Oklahoma Legislature."

The headlines were on a story reporting that an attack on newspapers and the Tulsa World in particular by Rep. R.I. Bond of Pittsburg County resulted in the appointment of a committee to investigate the World in reference to a story on its front page the previous day.

Reps. J.B. Griggs and Harry B. Cordell complained that newspapers had published stories about what the House did in executive session and demanded that reporters be brought before the House and forced to tell where they got their information.

The previous day's Page 1 story dealt with an investigation of state officials and appeared under a headline that read: "A Story of Corruption that in History Is Not Surpassed" and a subhead that said "Appears Now That Oklahoma State Legislature Is Going to Uncover Rankest Graft Ever Perpetrated by Administration of a State."

That story said corruption out of the Auditor's Office had invaded the major portion of the offices of the state going back into the Gov. Charles Haskell administration.

"There is a verified rumor that somebody has peached and that as soon as he peached, the whole brazen fabric of corruption began to crumble," the story continued.

(According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, "peached" as a transitive verb means to inform against; as an intransitive verb it means to turn informer.)

"That the entire state administration is honeycombed with a system of graft which has been going on for many years can be stated with certainty," the story had reported.

"The House started out ostensibly to whitewash and has wound up in so much mire that in order to save the party, they are bound to go on and the solemnity of the executive session indicates clearly that the investi gating will go on."

Calling that article an insult to several members of the House, Bond moved that the World's Capitol correspondent be denied privileges on the House floor. The motion caused an uproar. Several members tried to speak at once as Rep. H.H. Smith of Shawnee took the side of the World and defended freedom of the press, as did Rep. J. Roy Williams of Comanche.

Another legislator pointed out that the article that caused the furor didn't bear a byline and said it was not fair to charge that World Correspondent J.A. McKeever wrote it.

Williams maintained that the House had no authority to investigate any newspaper and told members they should confine their probe to their own members.

The motion was finally approved, and a committee of five was named to investigate the World.

An inside story reported there were hourly developments in the exposure of graft and corruption that now included claims that Dr. J.H. Stolper, the public defender, had accepted money to obtain pardons for two men accused of crimes. The two were pardoned when Lt. Gov. J.J. McAlester was acting as chief executive in the absence of Gov. Lee Cruce.

The House backed down on Feb. 15 and adopted a resolution holding that "the greatest boon to every American citizen is the freedom of speech and the press" and that "every member of this House is more than willing that his acts and doings as a legislator be given all the publicity which the press of the nation can give."

And little, if anything, came of the World's revelation of unsurpassed corruption in state government.

Photograph research by Rachele Vaughan

Only in Oklahoma is a series from the Tulsa World Archive that was written by former Tulsa World Managing Editor Gene Curtis during the Oklahoma Centennial in 2007. The columns told interesting stories from the history of the country’s 46th state. The Tulsa World Archive is home to more than 2.3 million stories, 1.5 million photographs and 55,000 videos. Tulsa World subscribers have full access to all the content in the archive. Not a subscriber? We have a digital subscription special offer of $1 for three months for a limited time at tulsaworld.com/subscribe.