Frank R. Gooding
Encyclopedia
Frank Robert Gooding was a Republican
United States Senator and the seventh Governor of Idaho. The city of Gooding and Gooding County
, both in southern Idaho, are named for him.
Born in England
, Gooding emigrated to the United States with his family in 1867. The family settled on a farm near Paw Paw
, Michigan
. Gooding attended the common schools there, and moved to Mount Shasta
, California
in 1877, and engaged in farming and mining.
Gooding moved to Idaho Territory
in 1881 and settled in Ketchum
where he worked as a mail carrier, and subsequently engaged in the firewood and charcoal business. In 1888 he settled near present-day Gooding.
After Idaho became a state in 1890, Gooding emerged as a leader of the conservative
faction of the Idaho Republican Party
. Gooding was a powerful figure in Idaho in the early 20th Century, as demonstrated by the fact the city of Gooding and Gooding County were both named after him in his lifetime. Gooding also managed to get elected to the Idaho Legislature
in 1898 and as Governor of Idaho in 1904 before he became a United States citizen.
Gooding had a reputation for having an off-putting and abrasive personality, and often clashed with others in the Republican Party, notably progressive
Senator William E. Borah
.
From 1905 to 1909, Gooding served as Governor of Idaho. During his administration the Idaho State Capitol building in Boise
was constructed.
In 1918 Gooding was the Republican nominee in a special U.S. Senate election to complete the term of James H. Brady
, who died in office early in the year. Gooding was defated by Democrat
John F. Nugent
.
In 1920 Gooding defeated Nugent for a full six-year term in the Senate. He took office in January 1921 two months before his term began to replace Nugent, who resigned to accept an appointment on the Federal Trade Commission
.
Gooding was reelected in 1926 by defeating Nugent again. He died in office in 1928 and was succeeded by a political protégé, John W. Thomas
.
Gooding is buried in Elmwood Cemetery
in Gooding.
(WFM), charged with the assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg
. In 1899, Steunenberg had crushed a rebellion of miners
during a labor dispute in Coeur d'Alene
. Steunenberg was murdered in 1905, and Harry Orchard
was arrested for the crime.
Idaho's Chief Justice Stockslager drafted a telegram which invited the Pinkerton Agency
to investigate. Governor Gooding was persuaded to approve the request, and Pinkerton agent James McParland
soon arrived to lead the investigation. McParland announced his suspicion that Orchard was "the tool of others."
McParland's first order was to have Orchard transferred from the relatively comfortable Caldwell
jail to death row in the Boise penitentiary, before any trial had occurred. The move was initially resisted by Judge Smith, who would be responsible for trying the case. The local judge anticipated a successful habeas corpus lawsuit against the tactic. McParland gave him "thirty precedents for the move." However, the sheriff in Caldwell also opposed the move.
Governor Gooding arranged a meeting between McParland and Chief Justice Stockslager, and then with Judge Smith. Before Smith arrived, McParland declared the county jail insecure, a potential target for dynamite. He also stated the purpose of the move to death row: "After three days I will attempt to get a confession." Chief Justice Stockslager approved of the move. In a pre-arranged plan, the Governor was called out of the room as soon as Judge Smith arrived, leaving McParland and the two judges alone. With the Chief Justice supporting the move to death row, Judge Smith also agreed.
McParland later threatened Orchard with immediate hanging, and said that he could avoid that fate only if he testified against leaders of the WFM. Orchard confessed, and was transferred from death row to a private bungalow in the prison yard. Governor Gooding stopped by to shake his hand and congratulate him on cooperating.
McParland then had WFM leaders Bill Haywood
, Charles Moyer
, and George Pettibone
arrested in Colorado, using extradition papers which falsely claimed that the three men had been present at Steunenberg's murder.
The investigation and trial were financed with "deficiency certificates." In his book Big Trouble, J. Anthony Lukas recorded that with the use of these certificates,
Thousands of dollars were also provided directly from the mine owners to the prosecuting attorneys in the case. Thus, mine owners were deliberately financing the state's prosecution of leaders of the union which had been organizing their mines. Upon hearing of this circumstance, President Theodore Roosevelt
issued a particularly stern rebuke to Governor Gooding, describing such a state of affairs as the "grossest impropriety." President Roosevelt wrote:
Governor Gooding's response to the President provided a "severely distorted" account of the financial arrangements for the trial, shifted the blame to others, and promised to return money contributed by the mine owners. Gooding then:
George Pettibone, Bill Haywood, and Charles Moyer were found not guilty of conspiracy in the killing. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His death sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.
The grounds and some of the dormitories at the ISDB.The school covers a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) area and provides dormitories for many of its students and has other facilities, such as a gymnasium and park.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
United States Senator and the seventh Governor of Idaho. The city of Gooding and Gooding County
Gooding County, Idaho
Gooding County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 14,155...
, both in southern Idaho, are named for him.
Born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Gooding emigrated to the United States with his family in 1867. The family settled on a farm near Paw Paw
Paw Paw, Michigan
Paw Paw is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 3,363. It is the county seat of Van Buren County.-Overview:...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Gooding attended the common schools there, and moved to Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta, California
Mount Shasta is a city in Siskiyou County, California, located at around 3,600 ft on the flanks of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark. The city is less than southwest of the summit of its namesake volcano...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1877, and engaged in farming and mining.
Gooding moved to Idaho Territory
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
in 1881 and settled in Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
where he worked as a mail carrier, and subsequently engaged in the firewood and charcoal business. In 1888 he settled near present-day Gooding.
After Idaho became a state in 1890, Gooding emerged as a leader of the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
faction of the Idaho Republican Party
Idaho Republican Party
The Idaho Republican Party, the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, is the dominant political party in the state of Idaho. Republicans control the all constitutional offices, with C.L. "Butch" Otter as Governor. They also control by large margins the state Senate and House...
. Gooding was a powerful figure in Idaho in the early 20th Century, as demonstrated by the fact the city of Gooding and Gooding County were both named after him in his lifetime. Gooding also managed to get elected to the Idaho Legislature
Idaho Legislature
The Idaho Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Idaho. It consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. The Idaho Senate contains 35 Senators, who are elected from 35 districts...
in 1898 and as Governor of Idaho in 1904 before he became a United States citizen.
Gooding had a reputation for having an off-putting and abrasive personality, and often clashed with others in the Republican Party, notably progressive
Progressivism in the United States
Progressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
Senator William E. Borah
William Edgar Borah
William Edgar Borah was a prominent Republican attorney and longtime United States Senator from Idaho noted for his oratorical skills and isolationist views. One of his nicknames later in life was "The Lion of Idaho."...
.
From 1905 to 1909, Gooding served as Governor of Idaho. During his administration the Idaho State Capitol building in Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
was constructed.
In 1918 Gooding was the Republican nominee in a special U.S. Senate election to complete the term of James H. Brady
James H. Brady
James Henry Brady was a U.S. politician from the Republican Party. He served as the eighth Governor of Idaho from 1909 to 1911 and a United States Senator representing Idaho from 1913 until his death.-Biography:...
, who died in office early in the year. Gooding was defated by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
John F. Nugent
John F. Nugent
John Frost Nugent was a Democratic United States Senator from Idaho.Nugent attended public schools, and worked in mines in Idaho and Australia. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1898, commencing practice in Silver City, Idaho...
.
In 1920 Gooding defeated Nugent for a full six-year term in the Senate. He took office in January 1921 two months before his term began to replace Nugent, who resigned to accept an appointment on the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
.
Gooding was reelected in 1926 by defeating Nugent again. He died in office in 1928 and was succeeded by a political protégé, John W. Thomas
John W. Thomas
John W. Thomas was an American Politician. A Republican, he served on two occasions as a United States Senator from Idaho, both times appointed after his predecessor died in office.-Early life:...
.
Gooding is buried in Elmwood Cemetery
Elmwood Cemetery (Gooding, Idaho)
Elmwood Cemetery is a cemetery in Gooding, Idaho.-Notable Burials:*Frank R. Gooding - Governor of Idaho 1905-1909, U.S. Senator 1921-1928. Namesake of Gooding, Idaho, and Gooding County, Idaho....
in Gooding.
The Steunenberg assassination
Governor Gooding came to national attention during the trial phase of the conspiracy prosecution of three leaders of the Western Federation of MinersWestern Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
(WFM), charged with the assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg
Frank Steunenberg
Frank Steunenberg was the fourth Governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He is perhaps best known for his 1905 assassination by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association...
. In 1899, Steunenberg had crushed a rebellion of miners
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899
There were two related incidents between miners and mine owners in Coeur d'Alene: the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892, and the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899....
during a labor dispute in Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
. Steunenberg was murdered in 1905, and Harry Orchard
Albert Horsley
Albert Edward Horsley , best known by the pseudonym Harry Orchard, was a miner convicted of the 1905 political assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg...
was arrested for the crime.
Idaho's Chief Justice Stockslager drafted a telegram which invited the Pinkerton Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
to investigate. Governor Gooding was persuaded to approve the request, and Pinkerton agent James McParland
James McParland
James McParland,There are various spellings of James McParland's name. His stenographer, Morris Friedman, wrote a book about him — as "McParland." The Pinkerton Labor Spy, New York, Wilshire Book Co., 1907). also known as James McParlan,The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor...
soon arrived to lead the investigation. McParland announced his suspicion that Orchard was "the tool of others."
McParland's first order was to have Orchard transferred from the relatively comfortable Caldwell
Caldwell, Idaho
Caldwell is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population to be 43,281, as of July 2009.Caldwell is the home of the College of Idaho. It is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area....
jail to death row in the Boise penitentiary, before any trial had occurred. The move was initially resisted by Judge Smith, who would be responsible for trying the case. The local judge anticipated a successful habeas corpus lawsuit against the tactic. McParland gave him "thirty precedents for the move." However, the sheriff in Caldwell also opposed the move.
Governor Gooding arranged a meeting between McParland and Chief Justice Stockslager, and then with Judge Smith. Before Smith arrived, McParland declared the county jail insecure, a potential target for dynamite. He also stated the purpose of the move to death row: "After three days I will attempt to get a confession." Chief Justice Stockslager approved of the move. In a pre-arranged plan, the Governor was called out of the room as soon as Judge Smith arrived, leaving McParland and the two judges alone. With the Chief Justice supporting the move to death row, Judge Smith also agreed.
McParland later threatened Orchard with immediate hanging, and said that he could avoid that fate only if he testified against leaders of the WFM. Orchard confessed, and was transferred from death row to a private bungalow in the prison yard. Governor Gooding stopped by to shake his hand and congratulate him on cooperating.
McParland then had WFM leaders Bill Haywood
Bill Haywood
William Dudley Haywood , better known as "Big Bill" Haywood, was a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World , and a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America...
, Charles Moyer
Charles Moyer
Charles Moyer was an American labor leader and president of the Western Federation of Miners from 1902 to 1926. He led the union through the Colorado Labor Wars, was kidnapped and accused of murdering an ex-governor of the state of Idaho, and shot in the back during a bitter copper mine strike...
, and George Pettibone
George Pettibone
George Pettibone was an Idaho miner. He was convicted of contempt of court and criminal conspiracy in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899....
arrested in Colorado, using extradition papers which falsely claimed that the three men had been present at Steunenberg's murder.
The investigation and trial were financed with "deficiency certificates." In his book Big Trouble, J. Anthony Lukas recorded that with the use of these certificates,
In effect, the bank acted as a mere conduit for the passage of money from the mining industry to the state for use in the Haywood prosecution.
Thousands of dollars were also provided directly from the mine owners to the prosecuting attorneys in the case. Thus, mine owners were deliberately financing the state's prosecution of leaders of the union which had been organizing their mines. Upon hearing of this circumstance, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
issued a particularly stern rebuke to Governor Gooding, describing such a state of affairs as the "grossest impropriety." President Roosevelt wrote:
[Idaho's government would] make a fatal mistake—and when I say fatal I mean literally that—if it permits itself to be identified with the operators any more than with the miners... If the Governor or the other officials of Idaho accept a cent from the operators or from any other capitalist with any reference, direct or indirect, to this prosecution, they would forfeit the respect of every good citizen and I should personally feel that they had committed a real crime.
Governor Gooding's response to the President provided a "severely distorted" account of the financial arrangements for the trial, shifted the blame to others, and promised to return money contributed by the mine owners. Gooding then:
...kept the narrowest construction of his promise to the president... [He then proclaimed publicly and often that no] dollar has been or will be supplied from any private source or organization whatsoever, [and then] went right on taking money from the mine owners.
George Pettibone, Bill Haywood, and Charles Moyer were found not guilty of conspiracy in the killing. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His death sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.
Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind
The Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind (ISDB) was first established in 1906 in Boise and operated there until it burned down on December 8, 1908. The Idaho Legislature passed an act on March 16, 1909 establishing a permanent state school. Governor Frank Gooding donated land for the ISDB so it was moved to Gooding and started accepting students in September 1910.The grounds and some of the dormitories at the ISDB.The school covers a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) area and provides dormitories for many of its students and has other facilities, such as a gymnasium and park.
See also
- Frank SteunenbergFrank SteunenbergFrank Steunenberg was the fourth Governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He is perhaps best known for his 1905 assassination by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association...
, assassinated ex-governor of Idaho - Harry OrchardAlbert HorsleyAlbert Edward Horsley , best known by the pseudonym Harry Orchard, was a miner convicted of the 1905 political assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg...
, convicted assassin in the Steunenberg assassination - James McParlandJames McParlandJames McParland,There are various spellings of James McParland's name. His stenographer, Morris Friedman, wrote a book about him — as "McParland." The Pinkerton Labor Spy, New York, Wilshire Book Co., 1907). also known as James McParlan,The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor...
, Pinkerton Detective responsible for the investigation - Bill HaywoodBill HaywoodWilliam Dudley Haywood , better known as "Big Bill" Haywood, was a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World , and a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America...
, WFM union leader accused of conspiracy - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899There were two related incidents between miners and mine owners in Coeur d'Alene: the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892, and the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899....
, alleged reason for the Steunenberg assassination