Texas Almanac, 1947-1948 Page: 113
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HISTORY OF TEXAS
fill the place in the United States Senate
made vacant by the death of Senator Morris
Sheppard, and won He was succeeded in the
governorship by Lt. Gov. Coke Stevenson.
Governor Stevenson was elected to a full
term in 1942 and again in 1944 and served
until Jan. 21, 1947 During his administration
the interests and activities of the people w cre
largely devoted to World War II (An account
of the part of Texas and Texans in military
and naval operations will be found in an-
other chapter ) One of the principal achieve-
ments of Governor Stevenson's administi ation
was the elimination of the deficit in the
state's general fund, which had existed and
increased through several preceding adminis-
tiations. This was accomplished without the
issuance of state bonds that had been pio-
vided by constitutional amendment in con-
junction with an amendment putting the
state on a pay-as-you-go basis by requi ing
that the State Comptroller of Public Accounts
disapprove appropriation bills for which
revenue could not be anticipated.
Governor Stevenson was succeeded by Gov.
Beauford H. Jester, Jan 21, 1947, after win-
ning in one of the most hotly disputed races
in recent Texas political history. There were
a number of contestants in the first primary
campaign, but this was narrowed to Jester
and Dr. Homer P. Rainey in the second pri-
mary Principal issue was the removal of
Rainey as president of the University of
Texas, Nov. 1, 1944. by a board of regents
whom Rainey charged with restricting aca-
demic freedom at the university In the i un-
off primary election Jester defeated Rainey
by a vote of 700,178 to 361,178.
SUMMARY.
In the preceding pages the progress of
Texas has been divided into chapters deal-
ing successively with the Period of Explora-
tions, Establishment of Spanish Dominion,
Era of Filibustering, Era of Colonization, the
Revolution, Era of the Republic, Early State-
hood, Secession and Civil War, Reconstruc-
tion. the Period of Expansion from Recon-
str uction to 1900, and Texas in the Twentieth
Century.
The first forty years of the current century
were devoted primarily to rounding out the
agricultural and livestock development the
exploitation of the more readily available
and more easily marketable mineral ie-
sources, and the laying of the foundations
for industrialization.
This era has been characterized also by
the rise of the cities, development of foreign
trade through Texas ports, great progress in
both public school and higher education, the
building of a connected highway system, and
the beginning of the development of the
artistic resources among the people
New Era of Economic Development.
To the present time, development of manu-
facturing has been largely dependent on those
resources that are most economically proc-
essed near point of production. Thus Texas
has seen the rise of the lumber mills, pe-
troleum refineries, cement plants, brick and
tile kilns, meat-packing plants, gypsum prod-
ucts plants, railroad construction and repair
shops, flour and grist mills, ice factories,
cottonseed products mills, harness factories
and establishments for manufacturing mis-
cellaneous products for local markets. It
has been an era of rapid industrial develop-
ment, but the industries that have been estab-
lished have been primarily of the type that
must, for reasons of economy, be located at
the source of materials.
Prior to the opening of World War II,
Texas had begun the second stage of its
industrial development. War needs greatly
facilitated this development and at the same
time brought to the state great industries for
which there can be little hope of permanence.The Texas industrial pay roll more than
tripled during the short space, 1940 to 19-41
In these four years, about half a million
people of the state shifted from rural to
urban ocation and environment
Relatively. Texas' greatest industrial re-
souices in the form of raw materials-the
textiles including cotton, wool and mohair-
have as yet brought only a moderate amount
of manufacturing development Only about
3 per cent of cotton production and even le.s
wool and mohair ale consumed by Texa
mills. These products are economically
shipped long distances in their raw form
They belong to the later period of industrial
dexvelopment-one that should arrive shortly
With it should come a multitude of allied
Industries Texas also holds opportunities for
a long list of chemical and heavy industrial
manufacturing industries.
Texas' Cultural Progress.
In its cultural and civic development the
transition of Texas of the immediate futu re
should be more marked than its economic and
political progress Not until after World at
I was there sufficient surplus wealth, above
that urgently needed for material purposes
to greatly encourage the arts It has been
only during the last fifteen or twenty years
that there has been sufficient private wealth
as a source of endowment, or public wealth
as a tax source, to encourage greatly the
higher processes of cultural development
other than education.
For the advancement of education, there
has been public and private effort and sacri-
fice, even from the days of the Republic A
large part of the public domain was set aside
for public school purposes and the establish-
ment and maintenance of the University of
Texas and Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege But as for public and private patronage
of the arts and sciences, it lagged necessarily
among the people of a region struggling to
adjust themselves to natural economic en-
vironment and accumulate sufficient capital
for the beginnings of economic development
So it has been only during recent years
that the library, the museum, the art gal-
lery, the theater, the observatory, the lecture
forum have begun to spring up and art. music
and literature to play a considerable part in
the lives of Texans The severity of the eco-
nomic depression, followed by the emergen-
cies of World War II, obstructed this devel-
opment momentarily, but with the return of
normal economic conditions the cultural de-
t elopment of Texas w ill go ahead as never
before The beginning of the second century
of Texas' statehood undoubtedly marks also
the beginning of a new chapter in the ad-
vancement of education and the arts as well
as economic and political institutions.
BASS WAR
One of th ? exciting episodes of the 1870's
was the "Bass War" between Sam Bass and
his band of outlaws, on the one hand, and the
Texas Rangers and county sheriffs, on the
other Born near Mitchell. Ind . In 1851, Bass
came to Texas at the age of nineteen and
worked as a cowhand and teamster in Denton
County. later turning to horse racing, gam-
bling and banditry His exploits ranged from
the Rio Grande borderland to the Dakotas
culminating in his participation as a member
of the Joel Collins band in the robbery of a
Union Pacific train in Nebraska in 1877, when
$60,000 in gold was obtained. He returned to
Denton. Texas. where he formed his own
band. In 1877 and the spring of 1878 he robbed
two stagecoaches and four trains in North
Central Texas. but on July 19. 1878, after
planning a bank robbery at Round Rock.
exas, he was wounded in a battle with Texas
Rangers and local officers at that town, and
died two days later For a detailed biography
see "Sam Bass." by Wayne Gard. published
by Houghton Mifflin Company, 1936.
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Texas Almanac, 1947-1948, book, 1947; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117136/m1/115/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.