good hour in beautiful Florida, for you have withstood the onslaughts of the county and state political rings, the corporations, the railroads, the fierce opposition of the press and organization of the negro voters of this state against you and the power of the Roman Catholic hierarchy against you. Yet over all of these the common people of Florida, the everyday cracker people have triumphed. Towards the end of the day, an inaugural ball and banquet would be held. He and his wife would refuse to participate in the inaugural ball. Catts would opt out of having the traditional punch that was served at the inaugural banquet. Tenure During his first message to the state legislature Catts would call for statewide prohibition, abolition of the convict lease system, an inheritance tax that would be graduated, more power for the state tax commission to investigate large corporations that were avoiding taxation, manual labor colleges for boys and girls, elimination of the Bryan primary law, taxation of church property and adoption of a guarantee law for banks. His address to the legislature was described as being well received by the press in Florida. The 1917 session of the state legislature would accomplish close to nothing in the end. At the onset of World War I as Florida teemed with a never-before-seen wave of Anti-German sentiment, Catts attempted to exploit this to further his own anti-Catholic and racist agendas. The governor publicly theorized that the monks of Saint Leo Abbey near Tampa were planning to arm Florida's black community for a popular revolt in favor of Kaiser Wilhelm II, after which Pope Benedict XV would take over Florida and move the Holy See to nearby San Antonio and close all of the Protestant churches. This speech caused a fair number of German settlers to move to friendlier parts of the country. The abbot of St. Leo, Right Rev. Charles Mohr, OSB, published several dignified responses to these conspiracy theories. In support of the St. Leo monks, many Pasco County Protestants made it a point to appear in public with local Catholics. Because of the backlash, Catts was forced to tone down his rhetoric when in the area. In April 1917, he admitted that he sent an insulting letter to Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory asking for Black Campbell, his brother-in-law who was in federal prison due to stealing $1,000 while serving as a