Edward A. Burke

Edward Austin Burke or Burk (September 13, 1839 – September 24, 1928), was the Democratic State Treasurer of Louisiana following Reconstruction. Burke later fled to Honduras after it was discovered that there were misappropriations of state treasury funds. While in Honduras Burke became a major land owner and held government positions within Honduras' nationalized railway systems. He remained an exile until his death nearly four decades later.

Early life and career Confederate Army document noting Burke's transfer to quartermasterBurke, by his own account, was of Irish descent and born in Louisville, Kentucky. He used the name "Burk" until after the Civil War. Burk's initial career started with the railroads. At the age of thirteen he was employed as a railroad telegraph operator in Urbana, Illinois. By the age of seventeen, he had been promoted to a division superintendent. The outbreak of the Civil War found Burke working for a railroad in Texas. On October 7, 1861, he was commissioned as a Confederate officer into Debray's Mounted Battalion. His knowledge of transportation logistics gained through his years of railroad experience resulted in his temporary transfer to Texas' Office of Field Transportation in March 1863. By December of that year the transfer was permanent. Major E.A. Burk commanded the Houston Battalion, Texas Infantry of 145 men. By war's end Burke had reached the rank of major with a duty assignment as Quartermaster and Chief Inspector of Field Transportation, District of Texas. After the war Burke's business career wavered. In Galveston he initially found work as telegraph operator and then as a manager of a cotton factorage. Burke tried to revitalize his fortunes by being elected the Chief Engineer of Galveston's volunteer fire department.

New Orleans Burke next appears in New Orleans in May 1869. At this point Burke added an "e" to his last name; prior to his arrival in New Orleans, Burke signed his name without an "e". Burke may have been trying to establish a new life in New Orleans and the minor name change may have helped him avoid Galveston creditors and distance himself from the alcohol tax scandal. Throughout his life, Burke also quoted different years of birth. Burke arrived in New Orleans during a commercial convention. He informed local New Orleanians, that he was in town to attend the convention and he was from the engineering firm of Stoddart & Burke. Burke, at first, found odd jobs in New Orleans, but eventually landed a position as a freight agent with the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad. In 1874 the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad was reorganized as the New Orleans, St. Louis & Chicago Railroad.

Major Burke's name inscribed in the north face of the Battle of Liberty Place Monument in New OrleansIn his newly adopted city Burke developed a friendship with Louis A. Wiltz, at the time, a politically ambitious banker. The 1872 election was not a total loss for Burke, his political mentor, Wiltz, was elected mayor of New Orleans. The insurgency lasted three days, with approximately 13 deaths and at least 70 injuries incurred. The arrival of federal troops restored the previous administration. Nevertheless, tensions within the city of New Orleans remained high for weeks. In October, at a New Orleans intersection, Burke attempted to assault the then Governor William Pitt Kellogg. The altercation escalated into an exchange of pistol fire between the two. Although no one was injured, the attack resulted in the arrest of Burke. At the governor's request, as a sign of peace, Burke was eventually released. In November of that same year Burke again ran for Administrator of Improvements. This time he won. Two years later Burke guided Francis T. Nicholls in his election campaign for governor. Overshadowing this election was the disputed presidential election of 1876. Burke then went to Washington to take part in the so-called Compromise of 1877; which confirmed a win for the Republican presidential candidate, a win for Louisiana's Democratic governor candidate, and guaranteed removal of federal troops from Louisiana. The Compromise also ratified Burke's friend, Wiltz, as the Lieutenant Governor. This accomplishment earned Burke much political clout. As a reward Burke was appointed State Tax Collector, considered one of the most lucrative offices within the state government.

Politics, journalism, and defending honor One of the major critics of the Louisiana Lottery was Henry J. Hearsey, the editor of the New Orleans Democrat. Burke and Charles T. Howard, spokesperson and the ipso facto power within the Louisiana Lottery, conspired to financially undermine the Democrat. At the time the Democrat had an abundance of state scrip, earned through state printing contracts. For the most part, the Democrat used this scrip as cash to pay its bills and suppliers. In 1879 Howard brought suit in federal court questioning the use of state scrip in payment of state debts. The court ruled that the scrip had no legal value. The Democrat, unable to satisfy its creditors and facing bankruptcy, was sold to a consortium, consisting of Burke, Howard, and others. Hearsey left the Democrat to become the editor-publisher of the New Orleans Daily States. After the purchase was finalized a second judicial ruling reversed the first decision restoring the value of state scrip. Burke resumed control of the Democrat as its managing editor.

Bad blood between both Burke and Hearsey resulted in a challenge to a duel from Hearsey. On January 25, 1880, both men faced off and exchanged pistol fire. At the conclusion of the duel, neither man was wounded and both considered their honor to be intact.

In 1881, Burke bought out his partners and became the sole owner of the Democrat. On December 4 of that same year, Burke bought the New Orleans Times. He then combined the two newspapers into the Times-Democrat.

Cotton Centennial Central Building of the World Cotton CentennialIn 1882, the National Cotton Planters Association proposed the idea of a "World Cotton Centennial". The organization called on New Orleans and other southern cities to bid for the honor of hosting the event. The proposal was not well received by southern cities still recovering from the aftermath of the Civil War. In order to stir up more publicity for the idea the National Cotton Planters Association in 1883 succeeded in having Senator Augustus Hill Garland of Arkansas introduce a bill in the US Senate to encourage the holding of a World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884. This bill was approved by both houses of Congress.

Honduras and treasury scandal Honduras was one of three Central American countries to exhibit at the exposition. While their display was modest in comparison to others, their exhibit was highlighted by a personal visit to the exposition by Honduran President Luis Bográn. During this visit Bográn's host was Burke. Bográn was impressed by Burke's personality. The two became fast friends. Bográn was looking for someone to market the wealth of natural resources Honduras had to offer the world. Burke envisioned New Orleans as being the primary importing port for all of Central America's exports. In 1886 as an inducement to Burke, Bográn offered two large mining concessions along the Jalán and Guayape rivers in return for Burke's promise to help build an industrial school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras' capital city. Burke accepted and visited Honduras at least twice between 1886 and 1888. Sources place the amount of missing treasury funds anywhere from $64,000 to $2 million. In early December, Burke decided not to return to New Orleans and was later personally welcomed by President Bográn to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Burke did not come empty-handed; he had succeeded in acquiring financing of $8 million for his mining venture. Arresting Burke was not an issue, because Honduras had not yet formalized a set of extradition treaties with the U.S. right

Burke's financial fortunes did not appear to fare well in Honduras. Burke had to contend with a number of financial panics in both London and Paris which caused investors to back out. He was also challenged with inclement weather and regime changes. In November 1893 Burke supported the losing side in a series of military skirmishes against Policarpo Bonilla. Burke and Domingo Vásquez had to flee to neighboring El Salvador. Eventually Burke came to terms with Bonilla and returned. During this same period of political upheaval, the opponents of the Louisiana Lottery succeeded in getting Congress to outlaw the interstate transportation of lottery tickets or lottery advertisements. The U.S. Supreme Court then affirmed that position. Instead of shutting down, the Louisiana Lottery decided to transfer its operations from New Orleans to Honduras. Very little is known, if Burke had any influence in steering the Louisiana Lottery to move to Honduras.

In June 1904, Burke accepted a position as the assistant superintendent and auditor of the Honduras Interoceanic Railway, one of the government's nationalized railroads. He held this position until August 1906. From 1912 to 1926, Burke held various positions within the National Railway of Honduras, also known as El Ferrocarril Nacional de Honduras, another nationalized railroad. In 1928, Burke was on hand to greet Charles Lindbergh who was on a goodwill flight through Central America. This was not Burke's first encounter with a famous aviator. In 1919, Burke had unknowingly hired local Lisandro Garay as a driver. Garay would later become famous as an aviator in his own right, picking up the moniker — the "Honduran Lindbergh".

Death and division of estate Burke died on September 24, 1928, at the Hotel Ritz in Tegucigalpa. Burke's only son, and only child, Lindsey, died in the Congo Free State more than two decades before Burke. In 1895, Lindsey had volunteered for service in the Force Publique in the Congo Free State, where he was commissioned as a lieutenant. About a year later, he was killed when he and three other officers were leading a contingent of fifty men to suppress an uprising of African natives. The men scattered, when natives ambushed their party; Lindsey, with the other three officers, fought until they were hacked down and slashed to pieces. Because of measures taken by the Honduran government, Burke's heirs in the U.S. received nothing.