>> Narrator: SIDNEY SANDERS McMATH WAS THE 34th GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS, SERVING FROM 1949 TO
1953. HIS YEARS IN THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE WERE TIMES OF REMARKABLE
CHANGE FOR THE STATE. HE BUILT A MODERN HIGHWAY SYSTEM, BROUGHT ELECTRICITY TO
RURAL ARKANSAS, FOUGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND EDUCATION FOR ALL ARKANSANS.
IN REALITY, SID McMATH HAD THREE CAREERS: POLITICIAN, DISTINGUISHED LAWYER, AND MEMBER
OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS. JOIN US NOW AS WE LOOK BACK AT
THE CAREER OF GOVERNOR SIDNEY McMATH.
>>Sid: I WAS BORN JUNE THE 14TH. OF COURSE, THAT'S THE DAY WHEN UNCLE SAM UNFURLED THE FLAG YOU
KNOW AND RAN THE OLD GLORY UP TO THE TOP OF THE FLAGPOLE. SO IT'S A GOOD DAY TO REMEMBER,
AND I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HAPPY ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION OF MY BIRTHDAY WITH THE FLAG.
BUT I WAS BORN IN COLUMBIA COUNTY IN BIG CREEK BOTTOM ON THE OLD McMATH HOME PLACE, AND
MY SISTER AND I WERE BORN THERE. SHE'S TWO YEARS OLDER THAN I AM, AND WE WERE BORN ON THE SAME DAY
BUT TWO YEARS DIFFERENCE. BUT I HAVE SOME FOND MEMORIES OF THAT PERIOD IN MY LIFE.
I PICKED COTTON ON THE FARM UP TO ABOUT... LET'S SEE, I WAS SEVEN, EIGHT OR NINE YEARS OF
AGE, I GUESS, WHEN I WAS PICKING COTTON, AND I WAS A GOOD COTTON PICKER.
I COULD PICK 100 POUNDS A DAY, YOU KNOW. AND I GOT $1 A POUND.
SO, I'D GET A... I MEAN, A CENT A POUND, NOT A DOLLAR A POUND. I'D MAKE $1 A DAY.
I DECIDED I'D GO DOWN TO A COUNTRY STORE ABOUT TWO MILES FROM WHERE WE LIVED,
AND I TOOK SOME OF MY MONEY WITH ME AND I WAS GOING TO MAKE SOME PURCHASES.
SO, I WENT DOWN AND, OF COURSE, YOU COULD... YOU'VE BEEN IN THESE COUNTRY STORES, YOU KNOW,
GENERAL STORES, AND THEY HAVE EVERYTHING. >> David: RIGHT.
>> Sid: SO I WENT IN AND I LOOKED OVER EVERYTHING REAL GOOD, AND I REMEMBER PRETTY WELL
WHAT I PURCHASED. THE FIRST THING I BOUGHT WAS A DOG COLLAR FOR MY DOG.
I HAD A DOG AND HIS NAME WAS BULGIA, AND WE WERE REAL GOOD COMPANIONS.
SO I BOUGHT HIM A DOG COLLAR. I GOT A BIG FLORIDA ORANGE AND I GOT A GREAT BIG RED APPLE,
AND I GOT A FLORIDA ORANGE FOR MY SISTER AND A BIG APPLE FOR MY SISTER.
AND I BOUGHT SOME CHOCOLATE DROPS FOR MY MOTHER. SHE LOVED CHOCOLATE DROPS.
SO I WENT HOME WITH THOSE PRIZED POSSESSIONS. >> David: WOW!
THAT'S AMAZING. THE FIRST TIME TO DO ANY PURCHASING ON YOUR OWN.
>> Sid: ON MY COTTON MONEY, MY COTTON-PICKING MONEY, YEAH. WELL, OF COURSE, I HAD A CHANCE
TO GET TO SEE HOW PEOPLE LIVED AT THAT TIME, DAVID. >>David: THAT'S RIGHT
>>Sid: YOU KNOW, WE WERE REALLY... THEY TALK ABOUT A DEPRESSION, 1928-1929 ALONG
IN THERE, IN THE '30s. WE HAD A DEPRESSION ALL THE TIME IN THAT PART OF SOUTH ARKANSAS
AND GENERALLY IN THE SOUTH, PARTICULARLY IN THE RURAL AREAS BECAUSE WE STILL HADN'T
RECOVERED FROM THE CIVIL WAR. >> David: SO IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, YOUR FATHER WAS-
AND YOUR FAMILY-- YOU WERE MOVING AROUND SO HE COULD MAKE A BETTER LIVING.
YOU MOVED TO SMACKOVER AND OVER IN UNION COUNTY AND A COUPLE OF OTHER COMMUNITIES AND MAYBE EVEN
BACK DOWN TO COLUMBIA COUNTY AND THEN ON TO HOT SPRINGS. >> Sid: THAT'S RIGHT.
THAT'S RIGHT. HE WAS... MY DAD REALLY DIDN'T LIKE FARMING, BUT HE LIKED
HORSES AND HE LIKED TO DEAL IN CATTLE. SO HE WOULD TRADE AND TRAFFIC IN
HORSES AND COWS. >> Narrator: WHEN SID WAS 11, HAL McMATH MOVED THE FAMILY TO
HOT SPRINGS, A RESORT TOWN KNOWN FOR MEDICINAL BATHS AND OPEN GAMBLING.
SID SOLD NEWSPAPERS IN THE DOWNTOWN STREETS AND IN THE MIDST OF THE CASINOS.
BUT IN SCHOOL AND THE BOY SCOUTS, HE MET ROLE MODELS THAT HELPED SHAPE HIS FUTURE.
YOUNG SID HAD THREE AMBITIONS: TO BE A LAWYER, TO BE A MARINE, AND TO BE A POLITICIAN.
>> Sid: ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN MY LIFE WAS OUR MOVE TO HOT
SPRINGS. THEY HAD AN EXCELLENT SCHOOL, AND HOT SPRINGS WAS A
COSMOPOLITAN PLACE. YOU MET PEOPLE OF ALL DIFFERENT RACES AND BACKGROUNDS AND SO
FORTH, AND PEOPLE CAME THERE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. AND I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL THERE.
I THOUGHT ABOUT RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
AND I WAS PRESIDENT OF MY FRESHMAN, SOPHOMORE, JUNIOR, AND SENIOR CLASSES.
THERE WAS A CHIEF OF POLICE, NATIONAL PARK POLICE IN HOT SPRINGS, NAME OF RICHARD L.
GAFFNEY. HE HAD A SCOUT TROOP THAT I WAS A MEMBER OF, THE THIRD BOY SCOUT
TROOP IN HOT SPRINGS. HE HAD A BOYS' CLUB, AND HE WAS AN UNOFFICIAL RECRUITER FOR THE
MARINES CORPS. THE MARINE CORPS WAS INVOLVED IN NICARAGUA AT THAT TIME.
HE HAD ALL THESE RECRUITING POSTERS ABOUT THE MARINE CORPS, SEE, AND SO FORTH.
SO I GOT THE IDEA THAT I WANTED TO BE A MARINE, AND HE GAVE ME THESE POSTERS AND I PAINTED MY
ROOM WITH THEM. WELL, HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA IF I WENT TO THE NAVAL
ACADEMY, WHICH I SAID WOULD BE FINE. SO CONGRESSMAN D.D. GLOVER, A
GREAT MAN, A WONDERFUL MAN. >> David: FROM MALVERN, I BELIEVE.
>> Sid: FROM MALVERN, A WONDERFUL FAMILY, GAVE ME AN APPOINTMENT TO THE NAVAL
ACADEMY. SO I WENT DOWN TO HENDERSON TO KIND OF PREP OUT ON IT, AND
THERE WAS A WONDERFUL LADY DOWN THERE THAT TRIED TO HELP ME WITH MY MATH.
YOU SEE, WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, WHEN I GOT INVOLVED IN DRAMATICS, I NEGLECTED MY
SCIENCE AND MY MATH, SEE? SO IT CAUGHT UP WITH ME. >> David: RIGHT.
>> Sid: SO WHEN I TOOK MY EXAMINATION FOR THE NAVAL ACADEMY, I FLUNKED IT.
I FLUNKED IT. >> David: BECAUSE OF THE MATH. THE LACK OF MATH, I GUESS.
>> Sid: THE LACK OF MATH, YES. SO I SADDLED UP AND WENT TO
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, AND I SIGNED UP WITH THE RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CORPS, YOU
KNOW, FOR THE FOUR-YEAR TOUR AND AND THEN I TOOK MY PRE-LAW. SO I WAS INVOLVED IN DRAMATICS
AND THE MILITARY AND GETTING READY TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS.
>> Narrator: SID ARRIVED IN FAYETTEVILLE WITH ONLY A FEW DOLLARS TO HIS NAME.
HE WORKED ODD JOBS TO SUPPORT HIMSELF AND TOOK UP BOXING. AS A SENIOR HE WAS ELECTED
PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT SENATE. HE BECAME CAPTAIN OF HIS R.O.T.C. SQUAD.
HE WENT ON TO FINISH HIS LAW DEGREE IN FAYETTEVILLE AND COMPLETE HIS MILITARY TRAINING
IN FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS, AT THE SAME TIME HITCHHIKING BACK AND FORTH
HE RECEIVED A COMMISSION WITH THE MARINE CORPS AND SPENT A YEAR AS A RECRUITER IN
PENNSYLVANIA BEFORE RETURNING TO HOT SPRINGS TO OPEN A LAW PRACTICE AND MARRY HIS HIGH
SCHOOL SWEETHEART. >> Sid: I CAME HOME TO MARRY ELAINE BROUGHTON.
AND AT THAT TIME IN THE MARINE CORPS, THE POLICY WAS THAT IF YOU WERE A SECOND LIEUTENANT,
YOU COULDN'T GET MARRIED. YOU HAD TO BE IN THE MARINE CORPS FOR TWO YEARS BEFORE YOU
COULD GET MARRIED. AND THE POLICY WAS IF THE MARINE CORPS WANTED YOU TO HAVE A
BRIDE, THEY WOULD ISSUE YOU ONE, SEE? SO I WENT HOME TO MARRY ELAINE
AND TO PRACTICE LAW; BUT THAT WAS IN '37, AND MY PAINT ON MY SHINGLE HADN'T GOTTEN DRY UNTIL,
OF COURSE, THE WAR CLOUDS GATHERED AND I FELT AN OBLIGATION TO GO BACK IN.
>> David: YOU ACTUALLY WENT BACK IN THE MARINES RIGHT BEFORE... A YEAR BEFORE PEARL HARBOR IN 1940
AS I RECALL. >> Sid: YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, I WENT BACK IN AUGUST OF 1940.
AND WHEN I WAS GETTING OUT OF THE CORPS IN 1937, COLONEL... CAPTAIN LOUIS "CHESTY" PULLER,
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS MARINES EVER, HIGHLY DECORATED, CAME BY MY QUARTERS TO SEE ME.
AND HE SAYS, "SANDY"-- HE CALLED SCOTCH MEN "SANDY"-- HE SAYS, "I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU GOING HOME TO
MARRY YOUR SWEETHEART AND TO PRACTICE LAW; BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING," HE SAYS, "YOU
NEED TO TAKE A RESERVE COMMISSION BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO WAR."
NOW THAT WAS IN 1937. >> David: FOUR YEARS. >> Sid: HE FORESAW THE WAR
AGAINST JAPAN. >> David: HE EVEN THOUGHT IT TO BE AND PREDICTED IT TO BE JAPAN;
IS THAT RIGHT? >> Sid: THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S RIGHT.
HE THOUGHT IT WAS JAPAN AND THE MARINE CORPS WAS GETTING PSYCHOLOGICALLY PREPARED FOR A
WAR AGAINST JAPAN, SEE, AT THAT TIME. OF COURSE, THE MARINE CORPS WAS
A SMALL ORGANIZATION, ONLY HAD ABOUT 17,000 MARINES. AT THE END OF THE WAR THEY HAD
FIVE DIVISIONS, YOU KNOW. I WENT BACK IN IN AUGUST OF 1940 BEFORE... A YEAR BEFORE PEARL
HARBOR. >> David: IN THE WAR, IN WORLD WAR II-- I'VE HEARD YOU SPEAK OF
THIS OFTEN AND I KNOW THAT YOU FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT IT. TELL US ABOUT BAUXITE, ARKANSAS
AND SALINE COUNTY, VERY BRIEFLY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD WAR II WAR EFFORT IF YOU
WOULD. VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. >> Sid: DAVID, I APPRECIATE
YOU ASKING ME THAT QUESTION. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HISTORY, THIS IS A DRAMATIC CHAPTER IN
THE HISTORY OF ARKANSAS AND THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY THAT NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT.
THE AVERAGE PERSON DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT. YOU KNOW, WHEN THE JAPANESE
ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD THAT WE'RE GOING TO BUILD
100,000 AIRPLANES. WELL, YOU HAVE TO HAVE ALUMINUM TO BUILD AIRPLANES, AND THE
EXPERTS DIDN'T THINK THAT HE COULD DO IT, THAT WE COULD DO IT.
HITLER DIDN'T THINK WE COULD DO IT BECAUSE AT THAT TIME THE BAUXITE THAT WE WERE USING WAS
COMING FROM SOUTH AMERICA, AND THE NAZI NAVAL BLOCKADE HAD SUNK THESE SHIPS BRINGING UP BAUXITE.
THEY HAD BOYCOTTED... I MEAN, BLOCKADED THE SOUTH ATLANTIC AND THE GULF OF MEXICO AND SO WE
WEREN'T GETTING THAT SOURCE OF BAUXITE. AND ALCOA HAD HAD A VERY
CONSERVATIVE POLICY OF CONSERVING THEIR RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE, SEE?
SO THEY WERE USING THE SOUTH AMERICAN BAUXITE. WELL, ROOSEVELT KNEW SOMETHING
THAT THE EXPERTS DIDN'T KNOW AND THAT HITLER DIDN'T KNOW. HE KNEW ABOUT BAUXITE, ARKANSAS.
95% OF THE BAUXITE IN NORTH AMERICA WAS IN BAUXITE, ARKANSAS, AND HE KNEW ABOUT THE
PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE CALLED ON TO GO IN AND DIG IT OUT. THE PEOPLE IN BAUXITE AND
CENTRAL ARKANSAS WENT IN AND WORKED AROUND THE CLOCK TO DIG OUT THAT BAUXITE, AND ALUMINUM
WAS PRODUCED AND PLANES WERE BUILT AND BATTLES WERE FOUGHT AND VICTORIES WON.
>> Narrator: McMATH WENT BACK INTO THE MARINE CORPS IN 1940, TRAINING OFFICERS AT THE MARINE
TRAINING SCHOOL IN QUANTICO, VIRGINIA. ELAINE JOINED HIM AND IN 1942
THEIR SON SANDY WAS BORN. BUT ELAINE NEVER RECOVERED FROM COMPLICATIONS FROM THE BIRTH.
SHE DIED AT QUANTICO A FEW MONTHS AFTER SANDY WAS BORN. SANDY WAS SENT BACK TO HOT
SPRINGS TO STAY WITH ELAINE'S PARENTS, AND McMATH REQUESTED OVERSEAS DUTY.
McMATH WAS ASSIGNED TO THE THIRD MARINE REGIMENT AND JOINED OTHER DIVISIONS IN THE PACIFIC IN THE
WAR AGAINST JAPAN. >> Sid: THE MARINES LANDED IN THE SOLOMONS IN AUGUST OF 1942,
THE FIRST MARINE DIVISION AND WE WERE TO JOIN THE FIRST MARINE DIVISION; BUT EN ROUTE WE
WERE DIVERTED TO AMERICAN SAMOA-- YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A BASE OF REALLY OPERATIONS IN
THAT PART OF THE WORLD-- AND TO PROTECT IT AGAINST THE JAPANESE WHO WERE MOVING SOUTH TOWARDS
NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA. SO AS SOON AS I GOT ASHORE, I SAID, "WELL, I'M SURE GOING TO
GET A COMPANY OR A BATTALION OR SOMETHING." I WAS A MAJOR AT THE TIME.
AND THEY GAVE ME WORD THAT I WAS GOING TO BE A TRAINING OFFICER IN THE JUNGLE WARFARE SCHOOLS.
>> David: WELL, THAT WAS IMPORTANT. THAT WAS VERY CRITICAL.
>> Sid: SO WE SET UP A JUNGLE WARFARE SCHOOL AND PUT THE NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND
THE JUNIOR OFFICERS OF THE THIRD MARINE REGIMENT THROUGH A JUNGLE WARFARE SCHOOL, SEE?
AND THEN, OF COURSE, AFTER THAT, I WAS MADE OPERATIONS OFFICER FOR THE THIRD MARINE REGIMENT,
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WERE. I WAS IN GUADALCANAL, BUT I WAS NOT IN GUADALCANAL IN THE FIRST
PHASES OF IT. GUADALCANAL WAS PRETTY WELL SECURE BY THE TIME WE GOT THERE.
WE USED GUADALCANAL AS A BASE TO GO UP TO NEW GEORGIA AND VELLA LAVELLA, KOLOMBANGARA, AND
BOUGAINVILLE. >> Narrator: McMATH CONTRACTED MALARIA AND RETURNED TO MARINE
HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON FOR THE REMAINED EFFORT OF THE WAR. A FRIEND INTRODUCED HIM TO ANNE
PHILLIPS, A SECRETARY FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THEY DATED THROUGHOUT MOST OF
1944 AND WERE MARRIED THAT OCTOBER. ONCE THE WAR WAS OVER, SID TOOK
ANNE BACK HOME TO HOT SPRINGS WHERE THEIR SON PHILLIP WAS BORN.
SID WENT BACK TO PRACTICING LAW AND FOUND GARLAND COUNTY IN THE CONTROLS OF A POLITICAL MACHINE
RUN BY HOT SPRINGS MAYOR LEO McLAUGHLIN. >> Sid: HE HAD TWO HORSES
NAMED SCOTCH AND SODA. HE'D HITCH 'EM UP TO A BUGGY AND RIDE DOWN THROUGH CENTRAL AVENUE
TO BE ADMIRED BY HIS VASSALS AND SO FORTH, SEE? HE WAS AN EXCELLENT SPEAKER.
HE COULD REALLY ROUSE A MOB, YOU KNOW 17? THE SITUATION IN HOT SPRINGS
FROM A POLITICAL STANDPOINT WAS SAD, WAS TRAGIC. WE HAD ILLEGAL GAMBLING IN HOT
SPRINGS, AND IT WASN'T JUST THE GAMBLING PER SE THAT WAS SO BAD, REALLY EVIL; BUT IN ORDER TO
OPERATE ILLEGALLY, THE MACHINE HAD TO CONTROL THE ELECTION MACHINERY, APPOINT THE JUDGES
AND CLERKS, THE ELECTION COMMISSION, AND SO FORTH, SO THAT THEY COULD CONTROL ALL
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS: THE MAYOR, THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, THE CIRCUIT JUDGE, THE SHERIFFS.
>> David: UP AND DOWN THE LINE. >> Sid: UP AND DOWN THE LINE, SEE?
AND THEY SELECTED THE GRAND JURIES AND THEY SELECTED THE PETTY JURIES; AND IF YOU HAD A
LAWSUIT OVER IN THE MUNICIPAL COURT, SEE, YOU HAD TO BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE IF YOU WERE GOING TO
GET ANYTHING LIKE JUSTICE BECAUSE THEY SELECTED THE JURORS AND JURORS CAME FROM PEOPLE
DOWNTOWN: THE CASINOS, THE BOOKIES, THE HOUSES OF ILL FAME AND SO FORTH.
SO THERE WERE OTHER G.I.s WHO HAD COME BACK AND WE WEREN'T INTIMIDATED, SO TO SPEAK, AND WE
FELT THAT WE'D BEEN FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AROUND THE WORLD AND WE SHOULD USE A LITTLE OF IT AT
HOME. >> Narrator: McMATH AND OTHER LOCAL VETERANS FORMED THE
GOVERNMENT IMPROVEMENT LEAGUE KNOWN AS THE G.I.s. 1946 WAS AN ELECTION YEAR, AND
THE G.I.s SET OUT TO CLEAN UP GARLAND COUNTY. McMATH RAN FOR PROSECUTING
ATTORNEY. (Political Announcement:) >> HAVING FOUGHT THE WAR FOR THE
PRESERVATION OF DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES, SHOULD WE NOT DEMAND THAT OUR OWN LOCAL GOVERNMENT BE
PURGED OF POLITICAL DICTATORSHIP? IF I HAVE NOT HERETOFORE MADE IT
CLEAR, I WISH TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU THAT I STAND OPPOSED TO THE MAYOR OF HOT SPRINGS AND TO ALL
OF HIS POLITICAL METHODS. >> Sid: THERE WAS A GOOD CITIZEN BY THE NAME OF EARL
RICKS AND ANOTHER CITIZEN BY THE NAME OF RAYMOND CLINTON, THE UNCLE OF THE PRESIDENT.
THEY HAD A CLINTON/RICKS BUICK AGENCY. AND THEY HAD A HUGE GARAGE,
AND SO WE HELD OUR MEETINGS IN THE RICKS/CLINTON GARAGE. WE HAD A CANDIDATE FOR EVERY
SPOT, FROM CONSTABLE ON UP TO CIRCUIT JUDGE AS A G.I. CANDIDATE; AND WE RAN IN THE
PRIMARY. WE WERE... I WAS THE ONLY ONE ELECTED IN THE PRIMARY.
WE ORGANIZED AN INDEPENDENT PARTY AND ALL THE CANDIDATES, THE G.I. CANDIDATES WHO HAD BEEN
DEFEATED, RAN AS INDEPENDENTS FOR THE OFFICES THAT THEY HAD RUN FOR IN THE PRIMARY.
>> David: THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A REPUBLICAN PARTY AT THAT TIME.
>> Sid: NO, THEY HAD NO REPUBLICAN PARTY. >> Narrator: THE G.I.s
CHALLENGED McLAUGHLIN IN THE COURTROOM. THE ELECTION LAWS OF THE TIME
REQUIRED PEOPLE TO PAY A POLL TAX IN ORDER TO VOTE. McLAUGHLIN'S FORCES WERE USING
ILLEGAL POLL TAX RECEIPTS TO CAST VOTES FOR THEIR OWN CANDIDATES.
>> Sid: OF COURSE, WE AVOIDED THOSE ILLEGAL POLL TAXES. WE BROUGHT SUIT IN THE UNITED
STATES FEDERAL COURT, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE ISSUE TO FEDERAL COURT BECAUSE I HAD A
FRIEND IN PINE BLUFF NAMED PAT MULLIS WHO VOLUNTEERED TO RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT, FILE AS AN
INDEPENDENT, SEE? AND IT GAVE THE FEDERAL COURT JURISDICTION OVER THE ISSUE
BECAUSE A FEDERAL OFFICER A CONGRESSMAN WAS GOING TO BE VOTED ON.
SO WE THREW OUT MAYBE 3,000-4,000 OF THE ILLEGAL POLL TAXES, AND OF COURSE, WE SWEPT
THE FIELD IN THE GENERAL ELECTION, ELECTED EVERYBODY, SEE?
>> Narrator: THE OVERTHROW OF THE McLAUGHLIN MACHINE BECAME KNOWN AS THE G.I. REVOLT.
AS PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, McMATH BEGAN CLOSING DOWN HOT SPRINGS ILLEGAL GAMBLING OPERATIONS.
IN 1948 INCUMBENT GOVERNOR BEN LANEY ANNOUNCED HE WOULD NOT SEEK A THIRD TERM, AND McMATH
ENTERED THE RACE RUNNING ON HIS WAR RECORD, THE G.I. REVOLUTION AND A PROMISE TO MODERNIZE AN
UNDERDEVELOPED STATE. (Political announcement:) >> Sid: I CAN'T RECALL A
CAMPAIGN WHEN IT WASN'T TALKED ABOUT. BUT I CAN RECALL THAT WE HAVEN'T
DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT, AND THAT'S OUR ROADS AND HIGHWAY SYSTEM IN ARKANSAS.
AND I HOPE WHEN YOU GO TO THE POLLS, YOU'LL VOTE FOR SID McMATH FOR GOVERNOR.
WORKING TOGETHER, WE WILL HAVE A BETTER ARKANSAS. >> Narrator: HIS CAMPAIGN WAS
MANAGED BY HIS OLD FRIEND HENRY WOODS. >> Sid: HENRY AND I HAVE BEEN
FRIENDS SEEMINGLY FOREVER. HIS MOTHER AND MY MOTHER WERE FRIENDS, AND WE BOTH GRADUATED
FROM HOT SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL. OF COURSE, I WAS AHEAD OF HENRY PROBABLY ABOUT FOUR YEARS.
AND HENRY AT THAT TIME WAS PRACTICING LAW IN TEXARKANA, AND HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE
YOUNG DEMOCRATS. AND HE CAME OVER TO SEE ME ABOUT ANY WAY HE COULD HELP ME IN THE
CAMPAIGN. I SAID, "WELL, I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO BE MY CAMPAIGN MANAGER."
OF COURSE, BEING THE PRESIDENT OF THE YOUNG DEMOCRATS, IT WAS A NATURAL TO HAVE THESE
ORGANIZATIONS... AND THEY WERE A LIVE-WIRE ORGANIZATION BACK THEN, WELL ORGANIZED AND ACTIVE,
PROBABLY MORE SO THAN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. SO I SAID, "WOULD YOU BE MY
CAMPAIGN MANAGER?" HE SAYS, "WELL," HE SAYS, "HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE?"
I SAID, "WELL, I HAVE I'VE GOT $1500 CASH AND I'VE GOT $1500 PROMISED."
HE SAID, "WE CAN WIN. I'LL TAKE THE JOB." >> David: THAT'S THE POWER OF
POSITIVE THINKING. >> Sid: CAN YOU IMAGINE STARTING OFF A MAJOR CAMPAIGN
WITH $1500 CASH AND $1500 PROMISED? >> David: OH, MY GOODNESS.
THAT WOULDN'T PAY YOUR FILING FEE TODAY. THAT WOULDN'T PAY FOR ONE
30-SECOND TV AD. >> Sid: BUT HENRY STAYED WITH ME IN EVERY CAMPAIGN I'VE EVER
BEEN IN AND HE WAS MY RIGHT-HAND MAN WHEN I WAS GOVERNOR. >> Narrator: McMATH FACED FORMER
ATTORNEY GENERAL JACK HOLT AND RADIO EVANGELIST JAMES "MAC" MACKRELL IN THE DEMOCRATIC
PRIMARY. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY DOMINATED THE SOUTH AT THAT TIME, AND
McMATH'S WIN GUARANTEED VICTORY IN THE FALL GENERAL ELECTIONS. RACE BECAME AN ISSUE IN THE
NATIONAL ELECTIONS OF 1948. DEMOCRAT HARRY TRUMAN WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT WITH CIVIL
RIGHTS AS PART OF HIS PLATFORM. OUTGOING ARKANSAS GOVERNOR BEN LANEY AND OTHER SOUTHERN
DEMOCRATS REBELED AGAINST THE PARTY, AND THEY SPLIT TO FORM THEIR OWN FACTION: THE
DIXIECRATS. IT WAS AN EFFORT TO KILL TRUMAN'S CHANCES AND TO SEND A
MESSAGE THAT THE SOUTH WOULD NOT SUPPORT A PRESIDENT WHO BELIEVED IN CIVIL RIGHTS.
>> Sid: TRUMAN AT THAT TIME WAS UNPOPULAR PRINCIPALLY BECAUSE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
PROGRAM. AND THE DIXIECRATS, THEY WERE UNHAPPY ABOUT THE PLATFORM SO
THEY WITHDREW FROM THE CONVENTION AND I THINK WENT TO EITHER MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, OR
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI-- I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHICH ONE IT WAS-- AND NOMINATED STROM
THURMOND AS PRESIDENT AND FIELDING WRIGHT AS VICE PRESIDENT AND GOVERNOR LANEY
CHAIRED THAT DIXIECRAT MEETING. >> David: ARKANSAS WAS ONE OF THE VERY FEW SOUTHERN STATES
THAT REMAINED LOYAL TO THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC TICKET. NOW, WHY WAS THAT?
>> Sid: AS SOON AS I WAS NOMINATED IN '48, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID IMMEDIATELY--
THERE WERE TWO OR THREE THINGS THAT I TOOK ON-- BUT I FEEL THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I DID
WAS START CAMPAIGNING FOR PRESIDENT TRUMAN. ALL THE POLLS INDICATED THAT
TRUMAN WOULD BE DEFEATED. AND NO ONE THOUGHT HE WOULD WIN EXCEPT HARRY TRUMAN, AND WE WERE
ABLE TO CARRY ARKANSAS BY A REAL GOOD VOTE, A MAJORITY VOTE. >> Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE
DIXIECRATS DID WIN FOUR STATES, TRUMAN WENT ON TO DEFEAT REPUBLICAN THOMAS DEWEY FOR
PRESIDENT. ARKANSAS HAD BEEN A KEY SOUTHERN STATE IN TRUMAN'S VICTORY, AND
HE WAS GRATEFUL TO SID McMATH FOR HIS SUPPORT. >> Sid: ARKANSAS STAYED IN
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AND PRESIDENT TRUMAN APPRECIATED THAT AND WE GOT TO... HE CAME TO
ARKANSAS SEVERAL TIMES. >> David: THERE'S A FABULOUS PICTURE OF YOU AND PRESIDENT
TRUMAN WALKING DOWN MAIN STREET. >> Sid: YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE 35th DIVISION REUNION,
HIS OLD ARMY OUTFIT. TRUMAN WAS A CAPTAIN IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR, YOU KNOW.
IT WAS A NATIONAL GUARD OUTFIT. SO HE ALWAYS WENT TO THEIR CONVENTIONS, AND HE ALWAYS
MARCHED WITH THE TROOPS, YOU KNOW. SO ON THIS OCCASION HE CAME TO
ARKANSAS, AND WE MARCHED DOWN MAIN STREET, AS YOU INDICATED, IN FRONT OF THE TROOPS; AND WE
GOT DOWN TO MARKHAM, WE TURNED WEST OR LEFT ON MARKHAM AND WENT UP TO THE OLD MARION HOTEL.
>> David: I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT. THEY SAY THAT YOU HAD A PRIVATE
AUDIENCE WITH PRESIDENT TRUMAN. CAN YOU TELL ON THE TELEVISION ABOUT WHAT YOU AND PRESIDENT
TRUMAN DID OR TALKED ABOUT. >> Sid: YEAH, I THINK SO. I THINK WE CAN TELL ABOUT IT.
>> David: YOU WERE IN THE MARION HOTEL. >> Sid: MARION HOTEL.
>> David: IN HIS SUITE. >> Sid: IN THE PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, THE PRESIDENTIAL SUITE,
AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE ENTOURAGE AROUND THE PRESIDENT THAT YOU HAVE NOW.
SO WE HAD A QUIET VISIT. IT WAS IN JULY OR IT WAS IN THE SUMMER.
I THINK IT WAS JULY. WE WENT INTO HIS SUITE AND HE SAID, "GOVERNOR, HOW WOULD YOU
LIKE TO HAVE A DRINK?" I WASN'T ABOUT TO TURN HIM DOWN. >> David: WOW!
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. >> Sid: I SAID, "THAT'S FINE,
MR. PRESIDENT." HE SAID, "WELL, HOW ABOUT BURBON AND BRANCH WATER?"
"GREAT." HE SAID, "WELL, YOU'RE GOING TO BE WAITED ON BY THE HIGHEST PAID
BARTENDER IN THE WORLD." SO I LOOKED AROUND AND THERE WASN'T ANYBODY BUT THE TWO OF
US. >> David: SO HARRY TRUMAN POURED YOU A DRINK.
>> Sid: SO HE GOT BEHIND THE BAR AND HE TOOK ONE OF THOSE LOW-BALL GLASSES AND HE POURED
IT HALF OF BURBON AND HALF OF WATER. AND WE SAT DOWN AND VISIT FOR 45
MINUTES OR AN HOUR AND TALKED. HE TALKED; I LISTENED. >> Narrator: McMATH TOOK OFFICE
IN JANUARY OF 1949. AND HE IMMEDIATELY LAUNCHED HIS MODERNIZATION PLANS AND MADE
GOOD ON HIS PROMISE TO GET ARKANSAS OUT OF THE MUD. EIGHT ARKANSAS COUNTIES DIDN'T
HAVE A SINGLE MILE OF PAVED ROADS AT THE TIME. >> Sid: I NEVER SAW A PAVED
ROAD UNTIL I WENT TO HOT SPRINGS, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT, WHEN I WAS TEN YEARS OF
AGE. >> David: THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW A PAVED STREET?
>> Sid: THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I'D SEEN A PAVED STREET. I'D SEEN SIDEWALKS, AND MY
SISTER AND I WERE TAKING THE STREETCAR FROM OUT TO SOUTH WHITTINGTON WHERE WE LIVED...
WEST WHITTINGTON WHERE WE LIVED AND WE HAD TO CHANGE STREETCARS AT THE JUNCTION, THE PARK AVENUE
AND WHITTINGTON JUNCTION. WHILE WE WERE WAITING-- MY SISTER USED TO TELL THIS ON ME
AND JUST GET THE BIGGEST KICK OF OUT IT-- SHE SAID I WENT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND I
TAPPED ON THE PAVEMENT AND I SAID, "LOOK-A-HERE, SISTER, HERE'S A PAVEMENT OUT IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE STREET." >> David: A PAVEMENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
>> Sid: SO WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY HARD-SURFACE ROADS, AND OF COURSE, ARKANSAS... AT THAT TIME
WE'D JUST BEEN THROUGH THE WAR AND MOST THINGS HAD BEEN NEGLECTED, PARTICULARLY THE
ROADS, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ROADS... THE FARMERS DIDN'T HAVE ROADS TO GET THEIR PRODUCE
TO MARKET AND GET THE CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, AND WE WERE LOSING POPULATION IN THE RURAL AREAS.
SO WE CAME UP WITH A BOND ISSUE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO SELL THE BONDS AND GET A ROAD PROGRAM
GOING. WE DIVIDED THE MONEY EQUALLY BETWEEN THE RURAL-TO-MARKET
ROADS AND THE PRIMARY HIGHWAYS. >> David: WELL, GOVERNOR, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, YOU BUILT PROBABLY
MORE MILES OF PAVED ROADS THAN ANY OTHER GOVERNOR IN HISTORY, AND YOU DID THIS IN A FOUR-YEAR
PERIOD AND YOU DID IT WITH A BOND ISSUE. >> Sid: RIGHT.
>> David: AND IT'S REALLY AMAZING. >> Sid: AND THOSE BONDS WERE
PAID OFF... >> David: THEY WERE PAID OFF. >> Sid: ...WITH I THINK A
TWO-CENT TAX ON GASOLINE. >> Narrator: SID McMATH WAS A DYNAMIC YOUNG GOVERNOR, AND THE
NATION TOOK NOTICE. HE PASSED A BILL TO DOUBLE SCHOOL FUNDING AND CONSOLIDATED
THE STATE'S SCHOOLS FROM OVER 1,500 DISTRICTS TO 424. HE SET OUT TO CONSTRUCT A MODERN
MEDICAL SCHOOL FOR ARKANSAS. >> Sid: LOUIS WEBSTER JONES WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, AND HE AND SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE CAME TO ME AND TALKED TO ME ABOUT THE
MEDICAL CENTER AND THE NEED FOR A MEDICAL SCHOOL, AMONG OTHER THINGS, TO TRAIN DOCTORS, TO
ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO INTO THE RURAL AREAS AND SO FORTH. SO WE PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND
CAME UP WITH A TAX OF TWO CENTS ON EACH PACKAGE OF CIGARETTES. THAT WAS IN 1949, AND YOU CAN
SEE WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THEN. WHAT AN EXCELLENT SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR A TAX.
HALF OF THE PATIENTS AT THE HOSPITAL AT THE TIME WERE BEING TREATED FOR A TOBACCO-RELATED
DISEASE, EMPHYSEMA OR LUNG CANCER OR WHATNOT; AND SO THAT PASSED AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD
THE MEDICAL CENTER. >> Narrator: IN 1949 ANNE GAVE BIRTH TO THEIR THIRD SON, BRUCE.
DURING THE FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE, SID, ANNE AND THE BOYS LIVED IN A HOUSE ON RIDGEWAY STREET IN
LITTLE ROCK; BUT IN EARLY 1950 THEY BECAME THE FIRST ARKANSAS FAMILY TO LIVE IN THE NEW
GOVERNOR'S MANSION. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME AN ARKANSAS GOVERNOR AND HIS FAMILY
HAD AN OFFICIAL RESIDENCE, AND IT WAS A SHOWPLACE. SOON AFTER, ONE NEW MANSION
RESIDENT CAUSED A STIR. >> Sid: THEY WERE HAVING A ROAD OPENING DEDICATION, AND
THEY INVITED ME UP TO CUT THE RIBBON. SO I CUT THE RIBBON AND THOSE
OLD COON HUNTERS UP THERE KNEW THAT I WAS A COON HUNTER, SEE? MY BOYS AND I HUNTED COONS OUT
ON THE FARM AND SO FORTH. SO, THEY MADE A GREAT CEREMONY OUT OF GIVING ME OLD RED, AND SO
I TOOK OLD RED HOME WITH ME AND I WAS... HE WAS THERE AT THE MANSION AND WE WERE FEEDING HIM
OUT OF THE GOVERNOR'S FUND, EXPENSE FUND AND SO FORTH. THERE WAS A NEWSPAPER REPORTER
IN NORTH LITTLE ROCK, TOOK UP THE ISSUE AND ACCUSED ME OF MISUSING THE GOVERNOR'S FUNDS,
THE OPERATING FUNDS TO FEED MY DOG, FEEDING HIM SO FORTH AND SO FORTH.
WELL, MY RESPONSE WAS THAT OLD RED HAD REPLACED ONE STATE TROOPER AS A GUARD AT THE
MANSION; AND SINCE HE WAS WORKING FOR THE STATE, I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY FAIR THAT HE BE FED
BY THE STATE. >> David: THAT HE BE FED BY THE STATE; WHAT A FAIR COMPROMISE.
>> Sid: YES, SIR. >> Narrator: WHILE THE GOVERNOR AND HIS FAMILY ENJOYED A
BEAUTIFUL NEW HOME FULL OF MODERN CONVENIENCES, MOST CITIZENS OF ARKANSAS WEREN'T SO
LUCKY. HALF OF THE POPULATION OF ARKANSAS HAD NO ELECTRICITY.
SID McMATH KNEW THIS WAS THE KEY TO IMPROVING FARM LIFE AND DRAWING INDUSTRY TO THE STATE.
IN 1935 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT HAD SET UP THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION, BETTER KNOWN AS
THE R.E.A., TO HELP RURAL ELECTRIC CO-OPS BRING POWER TO THE COUNTRYSIDE.
BY SUPPORTING THE PUBLICLY OWNED CO-OPS, McMATH MADE A POLITICAL ENEMY OF THE PRIVATELY OWNED
ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY. >> Sid: THAT WAS A PASSION
WITH ME: TO GET ELECTRICITY TO THE FARMS. WHERE I LIVED ON THE FARM IN
SOUTH ARKANSAS, WE HAD NO ELECTRICITY. YOU KNOW, A WASHING MACHINE WAS
A BLACK POT IN THE BACKYARD; AND A DRYER WAS A CLOTHESLINE, YOU KNOW, AND WE HAD A TUB WITH A
SCRUB BOARD, YOU KNOW. WE HAD NO INDOOR PLUMBING, YOU KNOW, AND SO I RECOGNIZED THE
QUALITY OF LIFE THAT COULD BE EXPERIENCED BY THE PEOPLE IN RURAL AREAS IF THEY JUST HAD
ELECTRICITY, SEE? IT CERTAINLY WOULD LIFT THE BURDEN OF WOMEN ON THE FARM.
WHEN I WAS RUNNING IN 1948, TWO PEOPLE CAME TO SEE ME IN HOT SPRINGS.
IT WAS TOM FITZHUGH WHO WAS THE ATTORNEY FOR THE RURAL ELECTRIC CO-OPS AND HARRY OSWALD, BLESS
HIS HEART, THAT PIONEER, THAT CHAMPION. >> David: WHAT A MAN.
>> Sid: HE DID A TREMENDOUS JOB. THEY CAME TO ME AND TALKED TO ME
ABOUT THAT PROGRAM AND WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO. THEY WANTED TO EXTEND IT OUT TO
THE RURAL AREAS, AND THEY COULDN'T GET THE POWER INTERESTS TO DO IT.
THE ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY WAS TOTALLY OWNED BY THE MIDSOUTH UTILITIES; AND ALTHOUGH
THEY TOLD US THAT WAS JUST A LITTLE OLD ARKANSAS COUNTY... OR COMPANY, IT WAS OWNED BY MIDDLE
SOUTH UTILITIES; THEY OWNED ALL THE COMMON STOCK. THEY WERE OPPOSED TO THE POWER
COMPANY EXTENDING LINES OUT INTO THE RURAL AREAS BECAUSE IT WAS NOT PROFITABLE AT THAT TIME.
BUT THEY FORESAW THAT SOME DAY IT WOULD BE HIGHLY PROFITABLE, WHICH HAS HAPPENED, YOU KNOW.
SO THEY WERE OPPOSED TO THE CO-OPS EXTENDING OUT INTO THIS RURAL AREA BEYOND THE AREA THAT
THEY ALREADY HAD. AND I HAD THIS... AND THEY WANTED TO BUILD THEIR OWN
STEAM-GENERATING PLANT, BUILD THEIR OWN STEAM-GENERATING PLANT AND THEIR OWN GENERATING LINES
TO GET POWER UP INTO THE NORTHERN PART OF ARKANSAS, SEE? THEY HAD TO GET A LOAN UNDER THE
R.E.A. PROGRAM FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. >> Narrator: McMATH INTERVENED
ON BEHALF OF THE CO-OPS AND MADE A CALL TO PRESIDENT TRUMAN. THE R.E.A. PROGRAM LOANED THE
CO-OPS $10 MILLION TO BUILD THE PLANT AT OZARK, AND THE ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY FOUGHT
THE CO-OPS ALL THE WAY TO THE ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT. >> Sid: THEN THE POWER
COMPANY WENT TO A JUDGE AND GOT A RESTRAINING ORDER WHICH WAS AFFIRMED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF
ARKANSAS SAYING THAT THE R.E.A., IN ITS ORIGINAL ACT, BACK IN ABOUT '36, WAY BACK THERE, DID
NOT AUTHORIZE THE COOPERATIVES TO BUILD THEIR OWN GENERATING SYSTEM.
OF COURSE, OUR ARGUMENT WAS THAT IF THEY AUTHORIZED THEM TO BUILD TRANSMISSION LINES AND IF THEY
WERE AUTHORIZED TO BUILD TRANSMISSION LINES, BY IMPLICATION, THEY COULD BUILD A
STEAM-GENERATING PLANT TO FURNISH THE POWER TO GO OVER THE TRANSMISSION LINES TO THEIR
CUSTOMERS; BUT THE SUPREME COURT DIDN'T SEE IT THAT WAY AND THEY RULED AGAINST IT.
>> Narrator: DESPITE THE COURT RULING, McMATH CONTINUED HIS SUPPORT OF THE ARKANSAS ELECTRIC
CO-OPS AND BECAME THE FIRST ARKANSAS GOVERNOR TO ATTEND A RURAL ELECTRIFICATION STATE
MEETING. >> Sid: YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE WERE PRETTY WELL CONVINCED THAT
NOW THIS CO-OP BUSINESS GOING IN BORROWING MONEY FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO COME IN AND
COMPETE WITH PRIVATE POWER COMPANIES IS... IT'S SOCIALISM. >> David: IT'S SOCIALISM.
YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THEY CALLED IT. >> Sid: SO I WAS INVITED TO
GO TO BERRYVILLE TO TALK TO A CO-OP MEETING, AND I FLEW UP THERE IN A ONE-ENGINE AIRPLANE
AND WE HAD TO LAND AT A TURKEY PASTURE. SO WE HAD TO MAKE TWO PASSES TO
SHOO THE TURKEYS OUT OF THE WAY. >> David: TO SHOO THE TURKEYS OUT OF THE WAY.
>> Sid: YEAH, AND SO I HAD MY STATEMENT FOR THE PRESS AND THE COMMITTEE ALL READY.
YOU KNOW, I'D THOUGHT ABOUT IT, AND I WAS JUST SURE THERE WAS GOING TO BE A BIG CROWD OUT
THERE, YOU KNOW, TO MEET ME AT THE AIRFIELD. I GOT OUT OF THE AIRPLANE,
WALKED TO THE GATE, WASN'T ANYBODY THERE. NOBODY.
IT WAS A HOT JULY DAY. >> David: WELL, HOW DID YOU GET TO TOWN?
HOW DID YOU GET INTO TOWN? >> Sid: WELL, I TOOK MY COAT OFF AND I STARTED WALKING DOWN A
DUSTY ROAD-- ANOTHER ROAD THAT I PAVED-- AND A FARMER CAME ALONG IN A TRUCK.
HE STOPPED AND HE SAYS, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" I SAID, "I'M GOING TO THE CO-OP
MEETING." >> David: AND HERE YOU WERE, THE GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS.
>> Sid: YEAH, I WAS THE GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS. HE SAID, "GET IN.
THAT'S WHERE I'M GOING." WELL, WE VISITED AND SO FORTH. BUT I DIDN'T TELL HIM I WAS THE
GOVERNOR. I ASSUMED HE KNEW IT. MY NAME HAD BEEN IN THE PAPER
AND PICTURE AND SO FORTH. SO WE WENT TO THE CO-OP MEETING IN A GREAT BIG TENT.
YOU KNOW, THEY USED TO HAVE A GREAT BIG TENT. AND THE TIME CAME FOR ME TO
TALK. I WAS THE SPEAKER, AND RUSS GATES WAS THE MANAGER OF THE
CO-OP. HE INTRODUCED ME, GAVE ME A FLOWERY INTRODUCTION.
HE SAID, "I GIVE YOU SID McMATH, THE GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS." WELL, THIS OLD FARMER THAT HAD
BROUGHT ME TO TOWN WAS SITTING ON THE FRONT ROW THERE AND HE LEANED TO HIS NEIGHBOR AND HE
SAID IN A LOUD VOICE, HE SAID, "THAT AIN'T NO GOVERNOR. HE'S A HITCHHIKER.
I KNOW BECAUSE I BRUNG HIM TO TOWN." >> David: HE THOUGHT YOU WERE AN
IMPOSTER, DIDN'T HE? >> Sid: YEAH. >> Narrator: McMATH'S
PROGRESSIVE MOMENTUM CARRIED HIM THROUGH THE 1950 ELECTION. HE BEAT FORMER GOVERNOR BEN
LANEY BY ALMOST 2-TO-1. AT THE STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, McMATH CHALLENGED
PARTY RULES THAT SAID ONLY WHITES COULD VOTE IN THE PRIMARY ELECTION.
HE WAS SET TO RUN FOR A THIRD TERM, BUT A 1951 HIGHWAY AUDIT LED TO ACCUSATIONS THAT HIS
ADMINISTRATION WAS ACCEPTING MONEY IN RETURN FOR CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT CONTRACTS.
>> Sid: WHEN I RAN FOR THE THIRD TERM, I SHOULDN'T HAVE RUN.
I SHOULD NOT HAVE MADE THAT RACE, SEE? THE POWER ALIGNED AGAINST ME WAS
JUST OVERWHELMING, SEE? THEY HAD THE... >> David: YOU HAD TAKEN ON A LOT
OF GROUPS. >> Sid: OH, MAN, YEAH. >> David: POWERFUL GROUPS.
>> Sid: OF COURSE, THEY HAD HAD THE HIGHWAY AUDIT THING, SEE?
AND THAT WAS SPECTACULAR, USED, AND THEY HELD IT UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE RACE IN 1952,
IN THE SPRING, BY RELEASING ALL OF THESE CHARGES ABOUT MY ADMINISTRATION AND THE HIGHWAY
DEPARTMENT. >> David: AND LET ME SAY THIS. ULTIMATELY NO WRONGDOINGS WERE
FOUND. >> Sid: AND THREE GRAND JURIES WENT THROUGH THIS
BUSINESS, AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HIGHWAY AUDIT COMMISSION WAS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF THE ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY. ON EACH OF THE GRAND JURIES,
THERE WERE EITHER MEMBERS OF THE ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR
REPRESENTATIVES. SEE SO THEY WERE... AND IN THE SECOND GRAND JURY THEY HAD
PRIVATE FUNDS TO HIRE A PRIVATE PROSECUTOR TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING WAS COVERED AND
THERE WERE NO OPPORTUNITIES TO GET AN INDICTMENT WERE PASSED OVER.
WELL, AFTER THREE GRAND JURIES IN SUCCESSION, THEY CAME UP WITH TWO INDICTMENTS OF HIGHWAY
EMPLOYEES. AND THE FIRST INDICTMENT WAS THROWN OUT BY THE TRIAL JUDGE
FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE, AND THE SECOND TRIAL WENT TO THE JURY AND THE JURY WAS OUT FOUR
MINUTES AND RETURNED A VERDICT OF NOT GUILTY FOR THAT PARTICULAR DEFENDANT.
AND ALL THAT... THAT WAS THE RESULT OF ALL THE HIGHWAY AUDITS.
>> David: BUT YOUR ATTENTION AND YOUR FOCUS AND YOUR RESOURCES OF ENERGY WERE FOCUSED ON THIS
EPISODE. I MEAN, YOU WERE CONSUMED WITH THIS.
>> Sid: OH, ABSOLUTELY. AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO DEFEAT AN ALLEGATION.
>> Narrator: McMATH FACED FOUR OPPONENTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY OF 1952, INCLUDING JUDGE
FRANCIS CHERRY OF JONESBORO. JUDGE CHERRY TOOK HIS CAMPAIGN TO THE AIR WAVES, USING A
GIMMICK KNOWN AS THE "TALK-A-THON": PAID POLITICAL BROADCASTS THAT WENT ON FOR
HOURS. THE TALK-A-THON AND THE HIGHWAY AUDIT WERE TOO MUCH FOR SIDNEY
McMATH. >> Sid: THE PRESIDENT OF THE ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY
WHO WAS AGAINST ME AT THAT TIME, NATURALLY HE CAME UP WITH THIS TALK-A-THON BECAUSE A CANDIDATE
IN FLORIDA HAD USED IT AND HAD WON AND IT WAS A NATURAL FOR FRANCIS.
SO HE PREVAILED ON FRANCIS TO USE IT. I LED THE TICKET IN THE JULY
PRIMARY AND SO FRANCIS AND I WENT IN THE RUN-OFF. OUR SENIOR SENATOR AND THE
PRESIDENT OF ARKANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY GATHERED IN JONESBORO AND ENDORSED FRANCIS.
SO I WAS DEFEATED AND, AS I SAY, I SHOULDN'T HAVE MADE THE RACE. >> Narrator: WHEN HIS TERM WAS
UP IN JANUARY OF 1953, THE McMATHS MOVED OUT OF LITTLE ROCK TO A HOME IN GRANT COUNTY AND
GAVE BIRTH TO TWINS MELISSA AND PATRICIA LATER THAT YEAR. McMATH WENT BACK INTO LAW
PRACTICE WITH HENRY WOODS AND LELAND LEATHERMAN. THROUGH THE FIRM, McMATH
CONTINUED HIS WORK WITH THE ELECTRIC CO-OPS. >> Sid: IN 1953, I GUESS OR
'54, WE INTRODUCED A BILL IN THE LEGISLATURE TO PERMIT THE CO-OPS TO BUILD A STEAM-GENERATING
PLANT, AND THE POWER COMPANY HAD A LOT OF INFLUENCE IN THE LEGISLATURE AND DEFEATED IT.
THEN THE NEXT YEAR, I THINK IT WAS '54, WE GOT ANOTHER BILL IN AND GOT IT PASSED.
SO THE CO-OPS GOT THE LOAN TO BUILD THE STEAM-GENERATING PLANT AT OZARK, ARKANSAS, AND THEN
THEY WERE OFF TO SUPPLY ELECTRICITY TO THE RURAL AREAS THAT HADN'T BEEN GETTING THE
ELECTRICITY. >> David: WELL, YOU DIDN'T STAY OUT OF POLITICS VERY LONG.
YOU STILL HAD THAT... YOU WERE STILL THAT FIRE HORSE AND YOU STILL HAD THAT PASSION IN YOU.
YOU WANTED TO DO SOMETHING. SO THE NEXT THING YOU DID IS TWO YEARS LATER, YOU RAN NOT FOR
GOVERNOR AGAIN BUT YOU CHALLENGED JOHN L. McCLELLAN, SENATOR JOHN L. McCLELLAN IN
1954. THIS WAS KIND OF AT THE PEAK OF THE JOE McCARTHY ERA, AND YOU
TOOK ON JOHN L. McCLELLAN. TALK ABOUT THAT RACE A LITTLE BIT.
>> Sid: WELL, IN THE FIRST PLACE, JOHN McCLELLAN AND I WERE... HAD BEEN GOOD FRIENDS.
I CAMPAIGNED FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS FIRST ELECTED FOR CONGRESS, SEE? BUT WE GOT CROSS-WISE BECAUSE OF
THE POWER ISSUE, YOU KNOW, AND HE WAS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMAN'S PROGRAM, SEE?
SO I RAN AGAINST HIM IN 1954 AND WAS DEFEATED. >> David: YOU ALMOST DEFEATED
JOHN McCLELLAN IN 1954. THAT WAS A RAZOR-EDGE, RAZOR-CLOSE I SHOULD SAY, RACE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THAT IN CERTAIN COUNTIES YOU WERE COUNTED OUT, AND I DON'T KNOW
THAT TO BE THE CASE. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THAT'S TRUE OR FALSE, BUT YOU SURELY ALMOST
WON THAT RACE. >> Sid: WELL, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD LOOK LIKE SOUR GRAPES OR A
POOR LOSER IF YOU SAY, "WELL, I WAS COUNTED OUT BECAUSE THEY CHEATED" AND SO FORTH; BUT THERE
WERE TWO OR THREE COUNTIES IN EASTERN ARKANSAS WHERE PEOPLE THAT I HAD RELIED ON IN THE PAST
HAD BEEN FOR ME, THEY WENT THE OTHER WAY AT THE LAST MINUTE AND IT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE
RACE. >> Narrator: WHILE McMATH WAS CHALLENGING SENATOR JOHN
McCLELLAN FOR HIS SENATE SEAT, A FORMER MEMBER OF HIS ADMINISTRATION WAS RUNNING FOR
GOVERNOR, AND HIS NAME WAS ORVAL EUGENE FAUBUS. >> Sid: ORVAL AND I MET IN
FAYETTEVILLE. I WAS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1948, AND WE
RODE FROM FAYETTEVILLE OVER TO HUNTSVILLE, HIS HOMETOWN, IN A CAR AND VISITED AND HE WAS
INTERESTED IN FEELING ME OUT AND FINDING OUT WHAT MY PLATFORM WAS.
>> David: NOW AT THAT TIME HE WAS NOT THE POSTMASTER YET? OR WHAT WAS HE AT THAT TIME?
>> Sid: I DON'T KNOW WHETHER HE WAS THE POSTMASTER OR HAD BEEN OR WHETHER HE WAS A COUNTY
CLERK OR SOMETHING; BUT ANYWAY HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE UP HIS MIND ON WHO HE WAS GOING TO
SUPPORT IN THAT ELECTION. BY THE TIME WE GOT TO HUNTSVILLE, HE DECIDED HE'D
SUPPORT ME. SO HE SUPPORTED ME AND DID A GOOD JOB FOR ME.
OF COURSE, HE HAD A CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE RURAL PEOPLE IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS PARTICULARLY.
>> David: HE COULD SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE. >> Sid: SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE;
HE UNDERSTOOD THEIR NEEDS. HE WAS ONE OF THEM. SO WHEN I WAS ELECTED GOVERNOR,
ORVAL SAID, HE SAYS, "SID, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A PAYING JOB." SO HE CAME DOWN AND HE WENT TO
WORK FOR ME AS A SECRETARY, AND HIS JOB WAS TO MEET WITH THESE COUNTY COMMITTEES COMING DOWN TO
TRY TO GET THEIR ROAD PAVED, SEE? HE KNEW THEIR NEEDS AND
UNDERSTOOD THEM AND SO FORTH. HE WAS VERY GOOD AND HE WAS VERY HELPFUL IN THAT AREA.
>> Narrator: McMATH LOST THE 1954 SENATE RACE, BUT FAUBUS WAS ELECTED GOVERNOR.
McMATH CONTINUED TO CHAMPION CIVIL RIGHTS, FIGHTING FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE POLL TAX IN
1956. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ORVAL FAUBUS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY IN
1957. >> Sid: WE WERE OKAY UNTIL 1957 AND WE HAD THE LITTLE ROCK
HIGH SCHOOL CRISIS. I CALL IT A CRISIS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT WAS.
I DID NOT FEEL THAT WE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION ON CALLING OUT THE GUARD TO KEEP THOSE CHILDREN
FROM ENTERING THE HIGH SCHOOL. I FELT THAT LEADERSHIP AT THAT TIME MOVING IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION COULD RESOLVE THE MATTER BEFORE IT GOT OUT OF HAND.
WE HAD BEEN MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS IN THE RACIAL RELATIONSHIP IN GETTING
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACKS. >> David: HE IS IN THE
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AND CALLS THE GUARD OUT, AND YOU STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH HIM IN PUBLIC.
EVIDENTLY YOU GO ON TELEVISION AND YOU CHARACTERIZE THIS AS A VERY WRONG DIRECTION FOR US TO
BE TAKING AT THIS TIME. HE FIRES BACK AT YOU. YOU ARE HIS OWN MENTOR.
YOU'RE HIS FORMER BOSS. HE WORKED FOR YOU. AS YOU SAID, YOU PAVED THAT
HIGHWAY 23 THAT WE AFFECTIONATELY CALL THE PIG TRAIL AND LET FAUBUS OUT OF THE
HILLS, ONE OF YOUR GREAT MISTAKES. BUT PERSONALLY YOU AND THE
GOVERNOR... YOU AND GOVERNOR FAUBUS, I GUESS, AT THAT TIME HAD A SPLIT AND IT NEVER REALLY
HEALED TO ANY EXTENT I GUESS. >> Sid: WELL, I SAY IT WAS A MISTAKE IN THE LIGHT OF THE
PROGRESS WE WERE MAKING AND SO FORTH TO CALL OUT THE TROOPS, TO BAR, TO BLOCK THE COURT ORDER,
TO KEEP THESE CHILDREN OUT OF THE SCHOOL. I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS ILL
ADVISED FOR PRESIDENT EISENHOWER TO SEND OUT THE 101st AIRBORNE, SEE?
BECAUSE IT JUST GAVE THE WRONG IMPRESSION AND SO FORTH, AND IT'S AN INVASION OF THE YANKEES
AGAIN AND SO FORTH. I TALKED TO VICE PRESIDENT NIXON AND ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD... IF
HE COULD DISSUADE THE PRESIDENT FROM USING THE 101st AIRBORNE. BUT WHEN THEY USED THE 101st
AIRBORNE, WELL, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE REALLY NOT FOR FAUBUS RALLIED, "WELL, WE'VE BEEN
INVADED." SEE? SO THAT GAVE HIM THE POLITICAL
POWER THAT HE NEEDED TO BE IN OFFICE. >> Narrator: McMATH DECIDED TO
CHALLENGE FAUBUS IN 1962. (Political announcement:) >> HIS NAME IS SID McMATH.
A LAWYER BY TRADE, A HUNTER WHEN HE CAN BE. THIS SUMMER, HE'S A CANDIDATE
FOR GOVERNOR ON THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET. HE'S A MAN WITH ONE THING ON HIS
MIND: THE FUTURE OF ARKANSAS. >> WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TURN AROUND NOW AND FACE THE FUTURE.
>> Sid: I GAVE THAT A LOT OF CONSIDERATION. OF COURSE, IN THE MAIN I'D BE
RUNNING AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN MY SUPPORTERS, SEE, AGAINST AN ORGANIZE THAT I
HELPED BUILD; AND I UNDERSTOOD THE DIFFICULTIES. AGAIN, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN A
MISTAKE TO MAKE THAT RACE BECAUSE OF THE FORMIDABLE OPPOSITION AND THE ISSUE THAT
WAS SO PARAMOUNT IN PEOPLE'S MINDS; BUT I WANTED TO MAKE A STATEMENT, AND I MADE THAT RACE
IN ORDER TO MAKE A STATEMENT: THAT I THOUGHT OUR LEADERSHIP WAS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
AT THE WRONG TIME, AND I MADE THAT STATEMENT AND I WAS DEFEATED; AND THAT WAS THE
REASON I MADE IT AND I DID THE BEST I COULD. I RAN AS HARD A RACE AS I COULD,
BUT I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH VOTES IN THE BALLOT BOX. >> David: WELL, YOU SURE WERE UP
AGAINST A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF FIRE POWER WITH ORVAL FAUBUS AT THAT TIME BECAUSE HE WAS PROBABLY AT
THE PEAK OF HIS POWER. BY 1962 HE HAD GOTTEN THROUGH THE INTEGRATION CRISIS AND ALL
OF THAT BUSINESS, BUT HE HAD BUILT AN ENORMOUS POWER BASE, PROBABLY UNLIKE ANY OTHER
GOVERNOR WE'VE EVER HAD. >> Sid: RIGHT. IF IT'S ANY CONSOLATION, I HAVE
A FEELING AT LEAST I'VE BEEN VINDICATED BY HISTORY. >> Narrator: THE 1962 RACE FOR
GOVERNOR WAS THE LAST HE MADE FOR POLITICAL OFFICE. HE THEN REFOCUSED HIS ENERGY ON
THE MILITARY AND THE LAW AND BECAME ONE OF ARKANSAS' MOST DISTINGUISHED TRIAL LAWYERS.
HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH LELAND LEATHERMAN AND HENRY WOODS LASTED FOR 25 YEARS UNTIL WOODS
WENT TO THE BENCH AS A UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE. SIDNEY McMATH SPENT A TOTAL OF
36 YEARS WITH THE MARINES AND ATTAINED THE RANK OF MAJOR GENERAL OF THE MARINE CORPS
RESERVE. IN 1994, ANNE HIS WIFE OF 50 YEARS DIED OF LEUKEMIA.
McMATH MARRIED A THIRD TIME IN 1996 TO ARTIST BETTY DORTCH RUSSELL.
TODAY SID McMATH CONTINUES TO BE AN ACTIVE SPEAKER AND COUNSEL TO YOUNG PEOPLE WANTING TO ENTER
LAW, THE MILITARY, OR POLITICS. >> Sid: YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU WOULD AGREE WITH ME IN SAYING
THAT FIRST THEY HAVE TO HAVE A MOTIVE, THE RIGHT MOTIVATION, A PASSION TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING
THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO GO IN AND PAY THE PRICE OF BEING A POLITICIAN...
>> David: AND THERE IS A PRICE TO PAY. >> Sid: ...THE COST OF IT IN
ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THAT ONE THING. >> David: THERE'S A PRICE TO
PAY. >> Sid: AND YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR THAT
WHETHER OR NOT AT THE TIME IT MIGHT BE THE POLITICALLY CORRECT THING TO DO.
THERE'S A QUOTATION SOMEWHERE IN MY MIND THAT GOES ABOUT MOTIVATION, IF I CAN REMEMBER
IT. "THE RIGHT MOTIVE GIVES OPINIONS TO THOUGHT AND FREEDOM AND
STRENGTH TO SPEECH AND ACTION." THEY HAVE THE RIGHT MOTIVE, OTHERWISE DON'T GET IN.
>> David: GOVERNOR McMATH, LET ME SAY THAT THIS STATE IS BETTER OFF TODAY BECAUSE OF YOU, SIR,
AND WHAT AN HONOR IT HAS BEEN FOR ME TO HAVE VISITED WITH YOU DURING THIS PROGRAM ON AETN.
WE ARE JUST VERY, VERY PROUD. THIS IS THE FIRST IN A SERIES, AND WE COULDN'T HAVE GONE... WE
COULDN'T HAVE GONE ANY HIGHER TO BEGIN AND TO INAUGURATE THIS SERIES.
>> Sid: THANK YOU, DAVID. I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. >> David: THANK YOU, SIR.
THANK YOU.