June 25, 1941

The lawyers for Eva Ware Barnett, composer of Arkansas’s first official state song, opted for a “no suit” action in her case against the state, effectively withdrawing the charge while retaining the option of reopening the case within a year. In 1939, the office of Secretary of State C. G. “Crip” Hall had prepared a pamphlet about the state, including the words and music to “Arkansas”—Barnett’s genteel anthem to Arkansas. According to later testimony by secretary of state employees, Barnett had offered no objection to this free publication. The pamphlet was issued in 1940, an election year; 60,000 copies were distributed. In June 1940, Barnett had filed a claim against the state, asserting that the free distribution had injured sales of her sheet music.