Cowboys, Colquitt, the Border Problem ... and Prohibition

I thought I'd share this postcard, which was sent in 1911, and which speaks (in a lovely hand) of Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt and an address which he gave at the Houston Auditorium during that year. Its inscription provides a small glimpse of the moral and political struggle which was Prohibition in our state during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth .... as well as of a number of purported cowpokes Smile

Governor Oscar Colquitt previously had been the Railroad Commissioner, and ran on an anti-Prohibition platform as a Democratic candidate. His administration was marked by conservatism. He was also forced to deal with what historians Rupert N. Richardson, Ernest Wallace and Adrian Anderson described as "an old vexing problem":

"Provoked by a series of Mexican revolutions beginning in 1910, violence erupted along the Rio Grande, and rumors of a Mexican insurrection in the United States were heard .... An investigating committee of the United States Senate reported that between November 1910 and October 1919 five hundred Americans lost their lives in the Mexican troubles .... Governor Colquitt twice sent state troops to the Rio Grande; ... a thousand Texas Rangers stationed along the border offered a measure of protection, but violence did not cease until several months after the close of the (First World) war." (Texas: The Lone Star State, page 375)

In addition to the Border troubles, Oscar Colquitt inherited a heavy deficit from the previous administration (that of Thomas M. Campbell) due to tax rates having been set too low. But the overriding conflict during the Colquitt years likely was Prohibition. Much may be found online concerning the efforts and temporary success of halting alcohol production and distribution in Texas, including, of course, a general entry in the Handbook of Texas online:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/vap1.html

Here, also, is the short article found there about Governor Colquitt:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fco32.html

Of interest to me, he is described as having been " a self-made man, obstinate yet affable. Though not a polished orator, he was a convincing speaker and possessed of the 'color that drew a crowd'; he was one of the most effective stump speakers in the history of Texas." Wistfully, it would seem that oratory has lost the fundamental position which it once held in our culture. When was the last time you heard someone being characterized as an "effective stump speaker"? Or, is the HOTO offering us a sly turn of humor; a double entendre?

cat

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The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

According to a short biography of his wife, nee Alice Fuller Murrell, Oscar Colquitt's cognizance of his Austrian ancestry may have influenced the pro-German stance which he kept at the opening of World War I.

And though they traveled frequently after leaving the Governor's Mansion, the couple maintained a permanent home on Live Oak Street .... in Dallas. Governor Colquitt had reached for a seat in the United States Senate in 1916; not being successful in this venture, he remained active in business and served as the president of a Big D-oil company.

The tiny community of Colquitt, in Kaufman County -- not far from Poetry and Irish Talty -- is called after Oscar Colquitt's forbears:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/hrc81.html

Prior to entering politics, Governor Colquitt was active in newspaper publishing and writing in Terrell, and in lovely Pittsburg (Camp County).

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/rising/page2.html
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The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Thats what you call a still hunters possie.