The Life of Judge H.H. Lovett
Part Four:
The People’s Politician
Written by Justin Lamb
Corruption was rampant in Marshall County during the early years of the 20th Century and voters were quickly losing confidence in their local elected officials. In December 1914, Circuit Court Clerk George Slaughter burned down the courthouse when he was trying to destroy court records which would have incriminated him for stealing county funds. Slaughter was convicted of arson and served seven years in the Eddyville Penitentiary.
A few months later, Slaughter’s predecessor, Robert I. Blagg, who was at the time serving as Benton Postmaster, was convicted of stealing funds from the Circuit Clerk’s office and Benton Post Office. He was sentenced to a year and six months in federal prison. Before leaving for Atlanta to serve his term in prison, Blagg spoke to a Paducah Evening Sun reporter, “I could open my mouth and tell what I know and I would have plenty of company in the federal prison.” Blagg implied that other county officials were involved in numerous corrupt matters and George Slaughter was the “fall guy” for the courthouse fire. Blagg continued, “It is not a connection with the shortage of postal funds, but is connected with another matter that happened prior to that. I will say nothing and will take my medicine like a man and those men whom I thought where my friends to go free.” When asked why he stole funds, Blagg commented, “I took the government funds after I became mixed up in the politics at Benton.”
The fire of the courthouse destroyed all of the records of the Circuit Clerk’s office, so a full scale investigation of the remaining county officials could not be conducted and no charges were ever brought against any of the other county officials. However, the voters of the county were tired of the corrupt ways in county government and they looked for new candidates to give them a breath of fresh air.
As construction completed on the new courthouse in the summer of 1915, H.H. Lovett was encouraged by his friends and family throughout the county to enter public service. Many believed that Lovett’s reputation as an honest man and his clean record as Superintendent of Public Schools made him easily electable. In the summer of 1915, Lovett answered the calls to run and made the decision to seek the office of Circuit Court Clerk. Lovett entered the Democratic Primary and ran on a platform of “restoring dignity to the courthouse.” He was joined in the race by John W. Williams, a farmer from the Benton area. On August 7, 1915, the voters of Marshall County went to the polls and Lovett was elected Circuit Clerk in a landslide. He received 1,296 votes to Williams’ 726 votes. In November, Lovett faced no Republican opposition. To ensure a smooth transition after his election, Lovett was appointed Deputy Circuit Clerk under interim clerk H.M. Holland. Lovett moved back to Benton and purchased a home at 1408 Walnut Street, a place where he and Mayme would live for the remainder of their lives.
As Circuit Clerk, Lovett became increasingly involved in the local Democratic Party and served on the Marshall County Democratic County Committee. He worked on several Democratic campaigns on the local, state, and federal level. Lovett was staunchly loyal to the Democratic Party, but challenged the leaders of his Party when he felt it was in the best interest of the people. Lovett despised what he termed as “invisible government” that dealt in back room deals and he often advocated an open transparent government. Fighting corruption and questionable ethics, he was often at odds with some of the local elected officials within the county even though they belonged to the same political party. It would be his fight against backroom government that shaped Lovett’s long political career.
The year 1916 saw the United States cut off diplomatic ties with Germany and eventually enter the Great War (World War I). Exempt from military service due to his large family, Lovett took an active role here at home. He was appointed by Governor A.O Stanley as clerk of the Marshall County Draft Board and he served as publicity manager for several campaigns and drives including the Liberty Loans, War Savings, United War Work, and Young Men’s Christian Association.