Texas Almanac, 1952-1953 Page: 55
[674] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
BRIEF HISTORY OF TEXAS.
climate of Texas brought to its borders some
of the principal training camps of the nation.
including Camp Travis at San Antonio. Canip
Bowie at Fort Worth, Camp McArthur at
Waco, and Camp Logan at Houston. Texas
was also a center of training for army avia-
tion, with Kelly Field at San Antonio. Love
Field at Dallas, Ellington Field at Houston.
and several other smaller fields. The Thirty-
sixth and Ninetieth, Texas divisions, saw
service at the front and there were several
Texas companies in the Forty-second. Fort
Sam Houston at San Antonio and Fort Bliss
at El Paso were centers of military activity.
Under Governor Hobby's administration the
compulsory school law was strengthened, free
textbooks for public schools were provided.
aid for rural schools was increased and the
general scholastic apportionment was raised
from $7.50 to $14.50. The apportionment had
never been above $7.50 prior to Hobby's ad-
ministration and the allotment of $14.50 set a
new standard for measurement of state sup-
port of schools.
Middle West Texas suffered the most severe
drouth in its history in 1917-1918 and Governor
Hobby was instrumental in obtaining loans
for the farmers of this region, so that they
might prepare crops for the following years.
The laws establishing the State Board, of
Control, the so-called "open port law," aimed
at violence in the longshoremen's strike in
port cities of the state and the law establish-
ing a quarantine against pink bollworm in-
fested areas and providing funds to pay
farmers who were damaged, were among the
measures passed during the Hobby adminis-
tration. The state tax rate for general revenue
purposes was reduced temporarily from 35c
to 23c.
Prohibition Amendment Adopted
The war fervor and the need of protecting
the many military camps in Texas from liquor
influences aided the cause of prohibition. The
amendment to the State Constitution was
submitted by the Thirty-sixth Legislature and
adopted at an election May 24. 1919, in which
the vote was 158,982 for, and 130,907 against.
In the meantime, however, the national pro-
hibition amendment had been submitted, and
it had been ratified by the Legislature of this
state. Feb. 28. 1918.
Despite war activity, Texas' industrial devel-
opment continued. Population increased from
3.896,542 in 1910 to 4,663,228 in 1920; manufac-
turing during the same period increased in
annual value of products from $272,895,635 to
$999,995,796,' which was a gain of more than
100 per cent indicated in actual volume after
deduction is made for the inflation of values.
The annual value of minerals produced had
increased from $18,383,451 in 1910 to $371,250,-
979 in 1920. The number of farms had increased
only from 417,770 to 436,033, due largely to
the war conditions and demand for men im-
mediately preceding the census of 1920. How-
ever, improved acreage had increased from
27.360:636 to 31,227,503.
The administration of Pat M. Neff (Jan. 18,
1921, to Jan. 20, 1925) -was characterized by
return to normal after-war conditions, and a
series of achievements such as the making of
an educational survey, the prison survey, the
creation of a prison advisory council, and an
industrial welfare commission. He originated
the state park movement and appointed the
first State Park Board. He instituted the rec-
lamation and conservation program pertaining
to the floodwaters and overflowing lands,
including a state-wide topogralphic survey and
the organization of a state advisory council
of engineers. He issued the first official state
program of the Texas Centennial celebration
for the holding of the Texas Centennial of 1936.
His administration was characterized by
declaring martial law for the suppressing of
crime and for the handling of the railroadstrike situation. He established an honor farm
in connection with the Texas penitentiary. .
Neff's first campaign was a stirring affair,
with Joseph Weldon Bailey, Robert E. Thom-
ason and Ben F. Looney as opponents. Bailey,
who had come out of retirement to private
life after his resignation from the United
States Senate in 1913, led Neff by a margin of
2.522 votes in the first primary. However, the
election law had been amended during the
preceding administration requiring a second
primary between the two leading contestants
in the first primary in instances where no
clear majority was obtained in the first race.
Neff defeated Bailey in the second priamry,
264,075 to 184,702. In the primary preceding
his second term, Neff defeated Fred S. Rog-
ers, 318,000 to 195,941. In the first of Neff's
two terms, Texas was depressed economically
by the sudden but short-lived deflation that
followed the close of World War I.
The first administration of Mrs. Miriam A.
Ferguson (Jan. 20, 1925, to Jan. 17. 1927).
first woman to hold the governorship of Texas,
came primarily as a result of the struggle
that arose during the Neff administration over
the Ku Klux Klan. This secret organization,
which carried the name of the old post-Civil
War order, but with which it had no connec-
tion and little similarity of purpose, gained
strength rapidly in Texas during 1922 and
1923. In the primaries of 1924, the Klan sup-
ported Felix D. Robertson in a nine-sided
contest, including Mrs. Ferguson, Lynch
Davidson and T. W. Davidson. Mrs. Ferguson
made the race for her husband, former Gov-
ernor, who had been barred from holding
office by the impeachment proceedings of
1917. Robertson led Mrs. Ferguson in the first
primary, but the combined vote of the two
leading candidates was less than half the
total votes polled. Furthermore, the other
leading candidates were opposed avowedly to
both Ferguson policies and Klan rule. After
winning 111in the second primary, Mrs. Fergu-
son met stiff opposition in the general election
by George C. utte, former University of
Texas professor, who ran on the Republican-
ticket and drew large support from bolting
Democrats. However, Mrs. Ferguson won,
422,588 to 294,970. Mrs. Ferguson's first term
was characterized by economical administra-
tion, but there was a return to the liberal
policy of pardons for convicts which had
Characterized James E. Ferguson's adminis-
tration, and it met popular opposition.
During the administration of Dan Moody
(Jan. 17, 1927, to Jan. 20, 1931) there was
increased effort at law enforcement, especial-
ly the prohibition law, violation of which was
now becoming a very serious problem in Texas
and elsewhere. Moody, as Attorney General
during Mrs. Ferguson's administration, had
caught the popular imagination by his prompt
steps to enforce the law and his unfaltering
opposition to the Ku Klux Klan. In the pri-
maries of 1926 he failed by a narrow margin
to gain a majority over Mrs. Ferguson, Lynch
Davidson and several other candidates in the
first primary, and defeated Mrs. Ferguson by
a vote of 495,723 to 270,595 in the second
primary. Moody reversed the Ferguson policy
of liberal grants of pardons to convicts, favored
education and lent his energies through his
appointments to the Highway Commission to
a constructive highway program for the state.
The administration of Ross S. Sterling (Jan.
20, 1931, to Jan. 17, 1933) followed that of
Moody. Sterling had served as chairman of
the State Highway Commission under Moody,
achieving remarkable results in bringing Texas
"out of the mud." The State Highway Com-
mission of Texas had been established in 1917
and, intermittently, had done effective work.
However, it was under the chairmanship of
Sterling in the administration of Moody that'
a really effective and consistent highway pro-
gram was established. Sterling maintained the
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Almanac, 1952-1953, book, 1951; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117137/m1/57/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.