Jim Hogg
Jim Hogg | |
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Charles Allen Culberson | |
Personal details | |
Born | March 24, 1851 public servant |
James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851 – March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman, and the
Hogg is often remembered for naming his daughter Ima, an odd name which derived from a poem written by James's brother, Thomas Elisha Hogg. The story that she had a sister or sisters with odd names (proposed names including "Hoosa", "Ura" and "Wera") is an urban legend.
Early years
Hogg was born in Cherokee County, Texas. His parents, Joseph L. Hogg and Lucanda McMath had moved to Texas in late 1836.[1][2] During the Civil War, his father served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. Joseph Hogg died in 1862, and Lucanda died the following year. Hogg and his two brothers were raised by their sister, Frances. The family had little money, and Hogg received only a basic education before being asked to go to work.[1]
In 1866, Hogg went to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to study.[2] Upon returning to Texas, he became a printer's devil at the Rusk Chronicle. In 1867, Hogg walked from East Texas to Cleburne, where he found a job with the Cleburne Chronicle. Soon after his arrival the building which housed the Cleburne Chronicle burned down, and Hogg returned to East Texas. For the next several years he worked as a farmhand and studied law. He later ran the Longview News and founded the Quitman News.[1]
Public service
In 1873, Hogg was named
In 1876, he was defeated by
Hogg was one of the men responsible for making Smith County a
Attorney general
Hogg was elected state Attorney General in 1886 with the platform of railroad regulation reform.[1] At that time, the state had the power to regulate the transportation industry, but existing laws were either unenforced or inadequate. Through "various legal maneuvers", Hogg forced the out-of-state corporations operating the railroads to establish operating offices in the state.[4] He also put an end to pooling by the railroads and suggested that the legislature propose a constitutional amendment to create the Railroad Commission of Texas.[4] In 1888 Hogg sued the rail companies for attempting to create a monopoly, among other charges. Hogg won, defeating the powerful rail baron Jay Gould and creating for himself a name in Texas politics.
Hogg also endeavored to rein in abuses by other large corporations. He tackled the "wildcat" insurance companies, forcing several of them to leave the state and requiring others to operate within the parameters of the law.[4] Under his guidance, Texas became the second state to pass a workable antitrust law.[4]
Governor
With the support of farmers, ranchers, and small merchants, Hogg won the election for
Hogg campaigned for a second term in 1892 on five principles: to uphold the state constitution, to support the Railroad Commission, to stop the railroads from issuing watered stocks, to regulate the issuance of county and municipal bonds, and to regulate alien land ownership.[7] When his opponent for the Democratic nomination, George Clark, realized that Hogg would likely win the nomination, Clark's supporters left the Democratic convention and went to a new location. There they formed a new party, the Jeffersonian Democrats, and nominated Clark for governor. Hogg was easily nominated as the Democratic candidate by the remaining delegates.[7]
The
During his second term, Hogg endorsed three constitutional amendments. Voters defeated the proposals to charter state banks and to provide a pension for indigent Confederate veterans, but approved the amendment to allow for public election of the railroad commissioners.
In April 1893, the legislature passed a law requiring that communities which issued bonds should also have a plan to collect sufficient taxes to pay the interest. Hogg's final campaign promise was fulfilled when the legislature passed the Perpetuities and Corporation Land Law, which required private corporations to sell all land they had held for speculative purposes within 15 years[9] The law was full of loopholes and did not have the effect that Hogg wanted.[10]
In 1894, Texas filed a lawsuit against
In a National Geographic article in 1961, Stanley Walker wrote that Hogg was "remembered as a man of uncommon ability" and was one of Texas' greatest governors.[12]: 172
Later years
Hogg's term as governor ended in 1895, the same year his wife died. Although he was not wealthy when he left office, through his connections he became involved in land and oil deals and amassed a large fortune.[3]
He spoke on behalf of
In 1901, Hogg founded the Texas Company, predecessor to Texaco, with Joseph S. Cullinan, John Warne Gates, and Arnold Schlaet.[13]
Jim Hogg's popularity extended beyond Texas, particularly in New York. The "Man in the Street" column in the edition of September 6, 1903, of The New York Times related the following anecdote regarding him:
Ex-Gov. Hogg of Texas, who has a reputation for liking to play a practical joke every time he gets a chance, says he has been cured of the habit. The last time he was in New York the joke he tried to perpetrate was turned back at him in great style. It happened that he wanted a shoe shine. The bootblack, a small-sized
Italian, began to chatter at him after he had taken his seat in the high chair. Not being in a conversational frame of mind, the portly Governor thought it would be a good plan to feign that he was deaf and dumb. So he responded by signs to everything the bootblack said.This proceeding naturally caused the desired silence on the part of the Italian, and the Governor was wrapped in his own thoughts, when suddenly a little newsboy ran up and asked him if he wanted a paper. Before he could reply the bootblack turned to the boy and said:
- "You nota talka to him. He deaf."
The newsboy looked him over, says the Governor, and then remarked in a loud voice:
- "Well, say, he's a fat old hog, ain't he?"
The Governor, who weighs 300 pounds or more, relishes telling the story, but he adds feelingly that he kept up his bluff after hearing the brutal comment of the newsboy.
— Man in the Street, New York Times, 1903
In January 1905, Hogg was injured in a railroad accident while on a business trip. He never completely recovered and died in his sleep on March 3, 1906, at the age of 54. He is buried in
Jim Hogg County southeast of Laredo is named after him.
In addition James S. Hogg Middle School in Norhill, Houston, of the Houston Independent School District, is named after him.[15]
Burial
In 1906, Texas Governor James Stephen Hogg asked that a
Several other American towns and regions host annual events celebrating the pecan harvest.Removal of statue
In the early morning of August 22, 2017, the University of Texas at Austin removed three Confederate monuments and a statue of Hogg. The university president said the removal was because of the violent protests at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[18][19] In December 2018, the statue was reinstalled on the east side of the university's Main building.
See also
- Governor of Arkansas(1949–1953) and has been historically compared with him
- The Hogg Family and Houston, a book about the family
- James S. Hogg Middle School, middle school built in 1926 on land donated by the Hogg estate
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Hendrickson (1995), p. 120.
- ^ a b c d e Cotner, Robert C., James Stephen Hogg, Handbook of Texas, retrieved September 25, 2007
- ^ a b c Hendrickson (1995), p. 130.
- ^ a b c d e Hendrickson (1995), p. 122.
- ^ Hendrickson (1995), p. 123.
- ^ "McDonald, William Jesse". tshaonline.org. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c Hendrickson (1995), p. 124.
- ^ Miller, Worth Robert (June 15, 2010). "Nugent, Thomas Lewis". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ a b c Hendrickson (1995), p. 125.
- ^ a b Hendrickson (1995), p. 126.
- ^ Hendrickson (1995), p. 127.
- ^ Stanley Walker (February 1961). "The Fabulous State of Texas". National Geographic. Vol. 119, no. 2.
- ISBN 9780876112366.
- ^ Hendrickson (1995), p. 131.
- ^ "School Histories Middle Schools". Houston Independent School District. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ "Texas Pecan Growers official site".
- ^ "Town website for San Saba, Texas". Town of San Saba Texas.
- ^ Jonah Engel Bromwich (August 22, 2017). "College in Texas Removes Confederate Monuments". The New York Times. p. A16.
- ^ Matthew Watkins (August 22, 2017). "UT-Austin removes Confederate statues in the middle of the night". Texas Tribune.
References
- Hendrickson, Kenneth E. Jr. (1995), The Chief of Executives of Texas: From Stephen F. Austin to John B. Connally, Jr., ISBN 0-89096-641-9
Further reading
- Cotner, Robert (1959). James Stephen Hogg: A Biography. Austin: University of Texas Press.
External links
- Guide to the James Stephen Hogg letter transcriptions and family photographs, 1890–1903 (Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)
- James Stephen Hogg from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Message of Gov. J. S. Hogg to the twenty-third Legislature of Texas., hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- Message of Governor James S. Hogg to the twenty-fourth legislature of Texas, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- Speeches and state papers of James Stephen Hogg, ex-governor of Texas, with a sketch of his life; ed. by C. W. Raines, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- Jim Hogg at Find a Grave