Texas Almanac, 1954-1955 Page: 68
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TEXAS ALMANAC-1954-1955
standard for measurement of state sup-
port of -chools.
Middle West Texas suffered the most
severe drouth in its history in 1917-18 and
Governor Hobby was instrumental in ob-
taining loans for the farmers of this re-
gion, so that they might prepare crops for
the following years. The laws establish-
ing the State Board of Control, the so-
.called "open port law," aimed at violence
in the longshoremen's strike in port cities
and the law establishing a quarantine
against pink bollworm infested areas and
providing funds to pay farmers who were
4p aged, were among 'the measures
passed during the Hobby administration.
A prohibition amendment to the State
Constitution was submitted by the Thirty-
sixth Legislature and adopted at an elec-
tion May 24, 1919, in which the vote was
158,982 for and 130,907 against. In the
meantime, however, the national prohibi-
tion amendment had been submitted, and
it had been ratified by the Legislature of
this state, Feb. 28, 1918. *
Gov. Pat M. Neff (Jan. 18, 1921, to Jan.
20, 1925) won the Democratic primaries
of 1920 in a heated race with Joseph Wel-
.don Bailey, Robert E. Thomason 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 mar-
gin of 2,522 votes in the first primary.
However, the election law had been
amended during the preceding adminis-
tration requiring a second primary be-
tween 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 pri-
mary, 264,075 to 184,702. In the primary
preceding his second term, Neff defeated
Fred S. Rogers, 318,000 to 195,941.
Neff's administration is notable for its
educational and prison surveys, and the
creation of prison advisory welfare com-
mission. He originated the state parks
movement and appointed the first State
Parks Board after it was established by
Legislature. He also issued the first offi-
cial program for a Texas State Centen-
nial to be held in 1936. He did not hesi-
tate to declare martial law to suppress
crime and to handle a railroad strike sit-
uation. He reversed the liberal pardon
policy of some former Governors, notably
erguson.
Mrs. Miriam A. Ferguson, wife of the
deposed Governor James E. Ferguson, be-
came Texas' first woman Governor, serv-
ing two nonconsecutive terms, Jan. 20,
1925, to Jan. 17, 1927, and Jan. 17, 1933,
to Jan. 15, 1935. A new issue had been
raised by the growing strength of the
Ku Klux Klan.
This secret organization, which carried
the name of the old post-Civil War order,
but with which it had no connection 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. Fer-
guson made the race for her husband,former Governor, 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 candi-
dates was less thah half the total votes
polled. Furthermore, the other leading
candidates were opposed avowedly to both
Ferguson policies and Klan rule.
After winning in the second primary,
Mrs. Ferguson met stiff opposition in the
general election by George C. Butte, for-
mer University of Texas law professor,
who ran on the Republican ticket and
drew large support from bolting Demo-
crats. However, Mrs. Ferguson won, 422,-
588 to 294,970. Mrs. Ferguson's first term
was characterized by economical adminis-
tration, but there was a return to the
liberal policy of pardons for convicts
which had characterized James E. Fer-
guson's administration, and it met popu-
ar opposition.
Gov. Dan Moody (Jan. 17 1927, to Jan.
20, 1931) succeeded Mrs. Ferguson. As
Attorney General, he had become popu-
lar with his prompt steps to enforce the
law, especially against infringements by
the Ku Klux Klan. He barely failed to
get a clear majority over Mrs. Ferguson,
Lynch Davidson and several other candi-
dates in the first primary, but defeated
Mrs. Ferguson 495,723 to 270,595 in the
runoff. Moody gave especial attention to
enforcing the prohibition law which had
become a serious problem. He reversed
the Ferguson policy of liberal grants of
pardons to convicts, favored education
and lent his energies through his appoint-
ments to the Highway Commission to a
constructive highway program for the
state.
Gov. Ross S. Sterling (Jan. 20, 1931, to
Jan. 17, 1933) who succeeded Governor
Moody, had served as Moody's Highway
Commission chairman, achieving remark-
able results in bringing Texas "out of the
mud." The State Highway Commission
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 con-
sistent highway program was established.
Sterling maintained the effective highway
program during his administration as
Governor by following Moody's policy of
nonpolitical appointments to the commis-
sion. Sterling s administration did not
prove popular, however. Unfortunately
for him, the ending of his first term coin-
cided with the depth of the depression,
and it was the perverse psychology of a
distracted public, probably, rather than
any shortcomings as an administrator,
that led to his defeat in his race for re-
election. For his first term he had de-
feated Mrs. Ferguson in first and second
primaries. In 1932, Mrs. Ferguson was in
the race again and, after leading in the
first primary by an appreciable plurality,
defeated Sterling in the second by the
close vote of 477,644 to 473,846.
It was in the midst of the depression
that Mrs. Miriam A. Ferguson's second
administration (Jan. 17, 1933 to Jan. 15,
1935) began. The outstanding accom-
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Texas Almanac, 1954-1955, book, 1953; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117168/m1/70/?rotate=180: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.