Texas Almanac, 1994-1995 Page: 51
672 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Texans in the U.S. Congress 51
John Nance Garner
of Uvalde (left) and
Jim Wright of Fort
Worth (right) have
served as speakers of
the U. S. House of
Representatives in
this century.office. A look at the number of new members of
Congress sent to Washington in each decade
gives an idea of turnover ratio. Throughout the
19th century, the state averaged sending 2.04
new representatives for each House seat in each
decade. (The Civil War decade of the 1860s was
not calculated in this study.) The rate dropped
from 1.92 in the 1890s to 1.06 in the first decade
of the new century. After an increase to 1.17
between 1911-1920, the rate dropped to .444 in
the 1920s. In the 1930s, the rate rose to .952 and
dropped to .591 in the 1950s before beginning to
rise again to .720 in the 1970s. The 1980s saw a
slight drop to .703. The number of seats held by
Texas in the U. S. House rose from 16 in 1901 to
27 in the 1980s. (It stands at 30 after the 1990
census.)
In the 20th century, four Texans - Sam Ray-
burn of Bonham (48.2 years), Wright Patman of
Texarkana (46.2 years). George H. Mahon of Col-
orado City (44 years), and William R. Poague of
Waco (42 years) - amassed more than 40 years of
seniority in the House. Another seven accumu-
lated more than 30 years seniority, and 14 had
between 20 and 30 years of tenure. With this
seniority and with the great power and discretion
given committee chairmen, Texas was poised to
take a major role in the legislative battles of the
new century.
Texas gained three seats in the House after
the 1900 census. One new member of Congress
was John Nance Garner of Uvalde. who became a
legend in the House. Garner's close association
with South Texas political boss Jim Wells tainted
his career in the eyes of some. But after Wells
managed Garner's 1902 campaign, the Uvalde
congressman was his own man in the House. In
later elections, he was never seriously threat-
ened.Garner quickly developed friendships with the
Democratic leadership in the House. Speaker
Champ Clark and Majority Leader Oscar Under-
wood befriended the young Texan. In 1909,
Garner was named minority whip and advanced
to majority whip two years later. He also was
named to a three-member Committee on Organi-
zation that supervised distribution of 300 jobs
related to operation of the House. The post
allowed him to accumulate favors from other
members.
By 1913, Garner had enough tenure for
appointment to the Ways and Means Committee.
Over the years, he contributed to the formation of
tariff and tax policies. Garner also was a leading
defender of President Woodrow Wilson's plans for
financing World War I. When friction developed
between Wilson and the Democratic leadership of
the House, Garner became the floor leader for the
President's legislative program.
The first major breakthrough came in 1911
when six Texans took charge of congressional
committees. Most prestigious was Robert L. Hen-
ry's chair of the Rules Committee that the Waco
resident held for four and one-half years. Under
the new House rules, Henry's committee con-
trolled the flow of legislation to the floor. Other
Texas members of Congress gaining chairman-
ships in April 1911 were John H. Stephens of
Vernon, Indian Affairs; William R. Smith of Colo-
rado City. Irrigation of Arid Lands; Morris
Sheppard of Texarkana, Public Buildings and
Grounds; Rufus Hardy of Corsicana, Navy Expen-
ditures; and Jack Beall of Waxahachie, Justice
Department Expenditures.
While the Texans were making their mark on
Congress. they had little stroke at home in presi-
dential politics. In 1911, progressive Democrats
Thomas H. Love of Dallas, E. M. House of Hous-
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1994-1995, book, 1993; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162513/m1/51/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.