Warren T. McCray
Warren Terry McCray | |
---|---|
Emmett Forrest Branch | |
Personal details | |
Born | February 4, 1865 Brook, Indiana, U.S. |
Died | December 19, 1938 Kentland, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 73)
Nationality | American |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Ella M. Ade[1] |
Warren Terry McCray (February 4, 1865 – December 19, 1938) was the 30th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1921 to 1924.
He came into conflict with the growing influence of the
Immediately after the embezzlement case failed, a new case was launched in federal court claiming he had solicited private loans in a fraudulent way. He resigned from office after his conviction for
Early life
Family and background
Warren Terry McCray was born near Brook, Indiana, on February 4, 1865, to Greenberry Ward and Martha (Galey) McCray. His friends and family called him "Warnie". He had two sisters, Annie Eliza and Fannie. At age five he moved to Kentland, Indiana where he grew up attending a local public school. His father and uncle formed a successful livery business there. From an early age, McCray was encouraged to find a way to make money, and began growing vegetables and selling them door to door as a young boy. As he grew older he began taking care of cattle of townspeople who did not have enough land for them to graze. For a fee, he drove the cattle into a pasture outside of town during the day and returned them in the evening.[5]
In April 1874, his uncle died and his father took on new partners. They soon purchased the Discount and Deposit Bank of Kentland and began to accumulate considerable wealth. As a teenager, McCray took a job in the bank as a bookkeeper. After completing high school in 1882 his father offered to send him to college, but the young McCray choose to instead remain working at the bank. By 1885 he had grown tired of his banking job, and decided to go into business on his own. With a friend, Willis Kirkpatrick, he purchased a town grocery store which was immediately very profitable. He used his income from the store to invest in railroad and mining stock, but mostly to buy land. He also made a significant investment in grain elevators and became President of the National Grain Dealers Association.[6]
McCray soon owned a large tract of quality farmland surrounding a large pond outside of Kentland which he named Orchard Lake. He married Ella Ade, the daughter of one of his father's business partners and sister of writer George Ade, on June 15, 1892. The couple had four children, although one died as an infant. McCray became interested in breeding cattle and began building a herd of specialized breeds. His reputation in the cattle community grew rapidly and he established a show barn and auction house and began selling his quality bred cattle, quickly growing his fortune.[7]
Local politics
McCray became involved in local civics organizations and served on the country school board for one term in 1890. A devastating fire struck Kentland a few years later, and the county placed him in charge of overseeing several projects to rebuilding the town. He gained a reputation for getting things done quickly and cost effectively, and ran for a seat on the town council the following year. There, he successfully advocated the modernization of the town by paving the roads, building an electric plant, installing street lighting, building safer railroad crossings, and several other projects. The tax increases needed to pay for the projects turned out to be too much, and he was voted out of office after one term.[7]
His activities gained him notice by the state party leaders who helped him to gain a seat on the state committee in the summer of 1896. He traveled to
State politics
McCray decided to run for governor in the 1916 Republican primary, but was defeated by the well connected former state party chairman,
In 1920 McCray considered running for governor in the Republican primary again, but decided against it and to instead support Will H. Hays in his run. Hays, however, announced he would not be running and instead backed McCray. In the primary, he ran against five other candidates, who attacked him primarily over his war record, as some Republicans were not supportive of the war effort, and for his business practices. The charges proved ineffective, and McCray won the primary defeating his closest competitor by over 50,000 votes.[9]
Governor
Reforms
In the general election, McCray was opposed by Democratic congressman Carleton B. McCulloch. McCulloch was a war veteran and a doctor and the campaign focused largely on the progressive agenda. The election was highly contested and remains the election with highest voter turnout in state history, most polling places having a turnout near 95%. The election was a landslide for Republicans across the board, as they increased majorities in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly.[9]
McCray came to office and in his inaugural address he all but declared an end to the Progressive Era, stating that people demanded "a season of government economy and a period of legislative inaction and rest."[9] He and the Republican majority in the General Assembly began rolling back several key regulatory laws and attempted to cut back on government spending. McCray focused attention on what he considered the useful and necessary state institutions and undertook an expansion of the education system by building dozens of new schools, constructing the first new state prisons in several decades, enlarging state hospitals, and building a new state reformatory for juvenile delinquents. McCray began laying out plans for a grander state highway system to better accommodate the automobiles which were becoming commonplace. Among the roads he approved creation of was the Lincoln Highway. To fund the road projects, the state introduced its first gasoline tax.[9]
Ku Klux Klan
The
The Klan gained even more influence in the government in the following year, and Edward Jackson granted the Klan a state charter and officially recognized their organization. McCray was angry with Jackson over the action, and demanded it be rescinded and threatened to take the measure to court, claiming that no organization could receive a charter unless its leaders would reveal themselves and sign the charter.
Loan scandal
Land values in Indiana collapsed during the early 1920s and severely hurt McCray's financial position because of his large involvement in land speculation. Although he owned nearly $3 million in assets, he was faced with bankruptcy, but was disturbed at the thought of losing his beloved farm. He took a loan from the State Agricultural Board for $155,000 and deposited into his personal account to cover his debts. He then began soliciting loans from banks by creating fake promissory notes and using them as collateral. Bank officials later claimed that they were coerced by the governor, who hinted that he would remove state deposits if they did not grant him the loans.[10]
Klan members soon found out about McCray's dealings and decided to use the situation to force him out of office. The
Later life
After serving three years in the
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Warren T. McCray | 683,253 | 54.6 | |
Democratic | Carleton B. McCulloch | 515,252 | 41.2 |
See also
- List of governors of Indiana
- List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
References
Notes
- ^ NGA bio
- ^ "Gov. Michael T. McCray". nga.org. 1978.
- ^ "Warren T. McCray, 1865-1938". in.gov.
- ^ Christopher Reinhart, Associate Attorney (February 9, 2004). "OLR Research Report". cga.ct.gov.
- ^ Gugin, p. 260.
- ^ Gugin, p. 261.
- ^ a b Gugin, p. 262.
- ^ a b Gugin, p. 263.
- ^ a b c d Gugin, p. 264.
- ^ a b Gugin, p. 265.
- ^ Gugin, p. 278.
- ^ "McCray Resigns as Governor of Indiana, And Returns to Jail for Sentence Today". The New York Times. April 30, 1924.
- ^ Gugin, p. 270
- ^ Gugin, p. 266.
- ^ Congressional Quarterly, p. 406
- ^ Gugin, p. 264
Bibliography
- Gugin, Linda C.; St. Clair, James E, eds. (2006). The Governors of Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87195-196-7.