Texas Almanac, 1994-1995 Page: 71
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Texans in the U. S. Congress
ager for the Clayton Antitrust Act.
David Culberson, former governor and state
attorney general, replaced Roger Q. Mills in the
Senate in 1899.
Congressman Joseph W. Bailey of Gainesville
challenged Chilton to take the senate nomination
to the people in 1900 in a forerunner to the state-
wide primary process. Bailey made numerous
appearances and had 30 county delegations
pledge to him before Chilton began campaigning.
The incumbent dropped out of the race when he
saw he could not defeat one of the most charis-
matic figures in Texas political history.
When elected to the House in 1891. Bailey
was the youngest member of Congress at age 27.
Through a 10-year career the House, he climbed
the leadership ladder and in 1895 was selected
as minority leader. This energy carried over into
the Senate, and the North Texan was a force to
be reckoned with.
By 1905 Bailey was the real minority leader
in the Senate, since Sen. Gorman of Maryland
was in poor health and seldom available to exe-
cute his duties. An able strategist and compelling
orator, Bailey was a staunch states' righter and
free-silver Democrat, devoted to basic principals
of the party as spelled out in its platform. Bailey
gave William Jennings Bryan his initial lessons
on the virtue of the free-silver philosophy. Bryan
later based two presidential campaigns on the
principal. In addition to his leadership duties,
Bailey chaired committees on Revolutionary
Claims, Woman Suffrage and additional accom-
modations for the library during his Senate
career.
"Bailey ran afoul ethical consider-
ations by representing oil and tim-
ber interests i cases not related to
legislation."
He appeared on the 1906 Democratic primary
ballot without opposition and was reappointed to
the Senate without opposition in 1906. Soon
thereafter he suffered a setback. Bailey ran afoul
of ethical considerations by representing oil and
timber interests in cases not related to legisla-
tion. But he collected healthy fees, and political
enemies dogged him with charges of malfeasance
for the remainder of his career. Numerous inves-
tigations failed to turn up any wrongdoing.
During his Senate tenure. Bailey built a
statewide political machine that first rivaled and
then defeated the followers of former Gov. Jim
Hogg. Bailey had been mentioned as a possible
presidential candidate, and President William
Howard Taft offered him an appointment to the
U.S. Supreme Court in 1909. which he declined.In September 1911. Bailey, tired of the contro-
versy and facing a stiff battle for reappointment,
announced he would not seek another term.
Congressman Morris Sheppard of Texarkana
immediately announced his candidacy.
Beginning in 1906, Texas Democrats required
all candidates for public office, even those not
popularly elected, to stand for office in the pri-
mary. Senators Bailey and Charles A. Culberson
had run unopposed in the 1906 and 1910 prima-
ries. Without an incumbent on the ballot, how-
ever. Sheppard drew several opponents. The
Texarkanan won a plurality of the primary vote.
Bailey resigned from office in January 1913,
and Gov. Oscar B. Colquitt supported Houston
newspaper publisher R. M. Johnston as Bailey's
replacement. The legislature elected Johnston,
and Sheppard's supporters immediately criti-
cized the appointment because Johnston had not
stood in the primary. Johnston resigned, and the
legislature named Sheppard to the seat, giving
him precious weeks of advantage in seniority
over the remainder of the freshman class of 1913
in the Senate.
The wave of reform that swept the nation in
the early 20th century included the movement
for popular election of U. S. Senate, which had
been selected by the legislatures of the states
since 1789. A constitutional amendment was
approved in 1913, and Charles A. Culberson,
who had served in the Senate since 1899, was
officially the first Texas senator elected by popu-
lar vote. Sheppard actually attained office by vir-
tue of a public vote four years earlier.
Culberson was minority leader in 1907 and
chaired the judiciary committee from 1913-1919.
He also chaired committees on Additional
Accommodations for the Library,Public Health &
National Quarantine and Private Land Claims
while in the Senate. In 1908. his name was men-
tioned as a possible presidential candidate, and
in 1912. some proposed his candidacy when the
national Democratic convention appeared dead-
locked before nominating Woodrow Wilson.
The Texan carried a heavy load in the upper
house, including Wilson's war measures. Suffer-
ing fatigue and poor health, Culberson was
defeated in the 1922 Democratic primary. Some
apologists contend he could not properly cam-
paign before a new group of Texas voters because
of his health, but critics say he fell out of touch
with constituents.
Earle B. Mayfield of Meridian, a former rail-
road commissioner, with strong support from the
Ku Klux Klan, defeated Culberson in the primary
and out polled former governor James Ferguson
in the runoff. Mayfield carried the general elec-
tion by a 2-to-1 margin, but the election was con-
tested in the Senate. After two years, Mayfield
was seated. Six years later, Mayfield was defeated
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1994-1995, book, 1993; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162513/m1/71/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.