In the Governor’s Shadow: The True Story of Ma and Pa Ferguson

Chapter 25 | Not Your Average Ma and Pa

231 N ola Wood’s serendipitous story emphasizes the dark shadow of influence that was cast by the Fergusons when, from positions of immense influence, they abused their authority, thereby establishing administrative climates where deception and fraud cascaded down the chain of command. In such an environment, integrity and conscience become disadvantages. If the governor’s shadow describes the sphere of influence that surrounds the chief executive, the Fergusons’ realms were dark ones that loosely encompassed two casts of characters: those who understood and endorsed the unseemliness, and those unfortunates who were simply caught in the crossfire. Within the Ferguson gubernatorial shadow, innocents like John Lomax and Edward Blackshear and unsuspecting players like H. C. Poe became collateral damage, the public protection expected from the penal system was sold, the judicial system was undermined, taxpayer money was squandered or stolen, cronyism flourished, and—perhaps—souls were compromised. Now, with a larger collection of puzzle pieces, we may better understand how this unusual phenomenon called Fergusonism registered itself so thoroughly in Texas’s political history and we can more accurately evaluate its impact. The best starting point might be to re-evaluate the couple’s existing legacies and to challenge some information (or perhaps misinformation) that has long endured. Governor James Ferguson has been given much credit, appropriately so, for the promotion and advancement of education, particularly rural education, which was the focus and recipient of new regulations under his watch. His administration gave life and substance to a compulsory attendance law, easier access to local funds for the use of textbooks, and a million-dollar allocation for rural school districts. Perhaps even more importantly, his administration established awareness for the critical need for educational appropriations, which likely influenced subsequent governors and legislators, many of whom also made education a legislative priority. Chapter 25 Not Your Average Ma and Pa 232 In the Governor’s Shadow His second administration’s most meritorious act was the establishment of a muchneeded State Highway Commission, a fact largely overshadowed by the 1925 scandal that resulted from his oversight of the funds at its disposal. The James Ferguson administration’s accomplishments came with the aid of a cooperative legislature, a benefit that not all governors experience. Even so, Governor Ferguson is certainly due credit. But Ferguson’s support for education was not collective. Though his espousal of a generous appropriation for the University of Texas may have given the initial impression that he was supportive of its goals, his immediate and severe demands for the allegiance of the school’s staff and faculty casts suspicion on the true motive for his generosity. Some believed that Ferguson’s animosity for the university grew out of his poor relationship with the institution, but the truth appears to be the exact opposite. The following statement from a newspaper article suggests that Ferguson’s bias against the institution of higher education was apparent early: “The fact is that, consciously or unconsciously, Mr. Ferguson is under a prejudice against the whole cause of higher education. He betrays this prejudice in several places in his message. . .” There is nothing profound about this statement until you consider its date. Published on January 22, 1915: a mere four days after James Ferguson took office, the article refers to his first official message as governor. 1 James Ferguson is probably best known as an advocate for farmers and the poor, but that theory certainly overstates the facts. His campaign promise of a remedy for the plight of the tenant farmer produced an ill-conceived tenant law, one that had little effect and was later found unconstitutional. The percentage of tenant farmers continued to increase and the plight of the rural poor did not improve under his watch. Other than his efforts at tick eradication, and his support for rural education, there is little of merit to hold up as an example of his help to farmers or the poor during his administration. His flagrant use of the spoils system offers ample evidence that his greatest interest in helping others was largely limited to those who were in positions to reciprocate. 2 Any credit for compassion that might otherwise be associated with the plethora of pardons that both Fergusons granted is surpassed by the near certainty that financial gain and reduced prison expenses incented the pair in that regard. Although the Fergusons claimed that their plentiful sanctions to prisoners stemmed from compassion, that theory is suspect. They seldom passed the greater test of a forgiving...