John Mills Houston
Encyclopedia
John Mills Houston was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from the 5th congressional district
of Kansas
from 1935 to 1943. He was also a member of the National Labor Relations Board
from 1943 to 1953.
in Jewell County
, Kansas
, in September 1890. His father was a wealthy businessman who owned a lumber yard. He attended public school in Wichita, Kansas
, from the first to fifth grade. He then entered St. John's Military School
in Salina, Kansas
, graduating in 1905 after two years. He graduated Fairmount College (now known as Wichita State University
) in Wichita, Kansas
, in 1906, having focused on business administration.
From 1906 to 1912 he worked a series of odd jobs, but then became an actor on the theatrical stage with the Harry Frazee
company. He was with the Frazee troupe from 1912 to 1917. At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
, and was one of 19 men selected to act as President Woodrow Wilson
's honor guard. He also served as a Marine guard at the State, War and Navy Building in Washington, D.C., and for a few months was the military orderly for United States Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels
.
After the war, he returned to Kansas. He was manager of the Houston-Doughty Lumber Co. (the firm his father co-owned) from 1917 to 1935. During his tenure as manager of the firm, he also served a term as president of the Kansas Lumbermen's Association and as a member of the board of directors of the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce. He married Charlotte Stellhorn of St. Louis, Missouri
, on May 28 in 1919 (some sources say 1920). The couple had two children, Patricia (1922) and Robert (1925). Houston was elected mayor of Newton, Kansas
, in 1927, serving two two-year terms. He was elected secretary of the Kansas Democratic State Central Committee in 1934, serving for a year. Houston was also active in the American Legion
and in Freemasonry
.
by the voters of Kansas' 5th Congressional District in 1934. The incumbent, William Augustus Ayres
, resigned from Congress on August 21, 1934, to accept an appointment to the Federal Trade Commission
. Somewhat surprisingly, Houston easily defeated Republican
Ira C. Watson 57 percent to 36.2 percent.
He won re-election two years later with 60 percent of the vote over Republican challenger J.B. Patterson. Houston barely defeated Republican Stanley Taylor in 1938, 43,990 to 43,480. In a rematch in 1940, Houston more handily defeated Taylor by a 5,500-vote margin (58,436 to 52,901).
During his tenure in Congress, Houston was a member of the House Committee on Appropriations
.
The 1940 census led to redistricting which pitted Houston against Edward Herbert Rees
, the incumbent Republican in Kansas' 4th congressional district
. Rees easily defeated Houston, 55,612 to 44,333. Republican Clifford R. Hope
, who had once held the 7th congressional district
(it had been eliminated due to redistricting) won the new 5th district seat once held by Houston.
(NLRB). His nomination was not well-received. NLRB chairman Dr. Harry A. Millis
had supported NLRB general counsel Robert B. Watts, and had urged Roosevelt repeatedly to appoint someone with extensive credentials in labor relations (which Houston lacked). Roosevelt also passed over Lloyd K. Garrison
, Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School and former chair of the National Labor Board
(NLB) in the early 1930s; Dr. George W. Taylor
, vice chairman of the National War Labor Board
and a former NLB regional director; and Edward C. Witte, a noted professor of labor relations at the University of Wisconsin.
Houston had no labor relations experience prior to his service on the NRLB. For the first several year of his first five-year term on the board, Houston relied heavily on his legal staff for advice. United States Department of Labor
solicitor general Gerard D. Reilly was appointed to the NRLB in September 1942 to replace the departing Edwin S. Smith. Reilly was deeply conservative, and some staff at the NLRB considered him reactionary
. Reilly also had a great deal of influence on Houston during Houston's first few years in office. But as Houston gained experience, he forged an alliance with the NLRB's moderate chairman, Harry Millis, who was a firm believer in collective bargaining
and labor unions
. In his second five-year term on the NLRB, Houston became the most consistently pro-labor member of the board. Reilly came to believe that NLRB Chief Trial Examiner Frank Bloom (a left-wing
lawyer) heavily influenced Houston in these later years.
Houston's renomination to the Board proved to be something of a watershed. In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act
expanded the NLRB's size from three to five members. President Harry S. Truman
had appointed one relatively liberal and one relatively conservative member to the Board after the Act's passage. Houston was renominated for the NLRB on April 12, 1948. His renomination was seen as something of a restoration of a "New Deal" (e.g., liberal) coalition on the NLRB, one which would interpret federal labor law more expansively and in favor of labor unions.
Houston was involved in several important votes during his tenure on the NRLB. Almost immediately after joining the board, he allied with Chairman Millis in voting to overturn a previous decision of the NLRB and deny plant foremen the right to join unions (as they were supervisors and not employees). But just two years later, he and Millis allied again to overturn their 1943 decision. Houston and new NLRB Chairman Paul Herzog again combined in 1946 to uphold the 1945 decision. In 1945, he again allied with Millis to force the resignation of Charles T. Douds, the board's controversial and liberal Northeast regional director. In 1947, he was embroiled along with the Board in a major dispute over the Taft-Hartley Act. The Act had become law over President Truman's veto in the summer of 1947, and among its many provisions was a requirement that all elected union leaders file an affidavit with the NLRB asserting that they were not now and never had been a member of the Communist Party USA
and that they disavowed any future attempt to overthrow the United States government by force. The question before the NLRB was whether this applied to union leaders who were elected not to sit on the executive board of their home union but to serve on the board of directors of some other federation, organization, or body. The NLRB's general counsel ruled that members of the boards of directors of the American Federation of Labor
and Congress of Industrial Organizations
must sign these oaths. This was a concern, since many of these individuals had been communists in their youth (although they were no longer). Since they did not hold elected positions on their home unions, they had escaped the Taft-Hartley Act's anti-communist oath provisions, but the general counsel's ruling put their service in jeopardy. Houston, along with three other members of the NLRB overruled the general counsel in a series of votes in September and October 1947.
Houston moved to Laguna Beach, California
. He died there April 29, 1975, after suffering a heart attack. He is interred in Melrose Abbey Cemetery, Anaheim, California
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the 5th congressional district
Kansas's 5th congressional district
Kansas's 5th congressional district is an obsolete district for representation in the United States House of Representatives.It existed from 1885 to 1993.-List of representatives:-References:*...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
from 1935 to 1943. He was also a member of the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
from 1943 to 1953.
Early life and career
John Houston was born to Samuel J. and Sarah H. (Nieves) Houston on a farm near the small town of FormosoFormoso, Kansas
Formoso is a city in Jewell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 93.-Geography:Formoso is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129...
in Jewell County
Jewell County, Kansas
Jewell County is a county located in North Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,077. Its county seat and most populous city is Mankato.-19th century:...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, in September 1890. His father was a wealthy businessman who owned a lumber yard. He attended public school in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, from the first to fifth grade. He then entered St. John's Military School
St. John's Military School
St. John's Military School, located in Salina, Kansas, is a private boarding military school for male students from grades 6 to 12. It aims to develop students' academic and leadership skills in a "military environment" overseen by a President, Academic Dean and Commandant of Cadets. It has the...
in Salina, Kansas
Salina, Kansas
Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...
, graduating in 1905 after two years. He graduated Fairmount College (now known as Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
) in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, in 1906, having focused on business administration.
From 1906 to 1912 he worked a series of odd jobs, but then became an actor on the theatrical stage with the Harry Frazee
Harry Frazee
Harry Herbert Frazee was an American theatrical agent, producer and director, and former owner of the Major League Baseball Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923.- Life as owner of the Red Sox :...
company. He was with the Frazee troupe from 1912 to 1917. At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and was one of 19 men selected to act as President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's honor guard. He also served as a Marine guard at the State, War and Navy Building in Washington, D.C., and for a few months was the military orderly for United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor and publisher from North Carolina who was appointed by United States President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I...
.
After the war, he returned to Kansas. He was manager of the Houston-Doughty Lumber Co. (the firm his father co-owned) from 1917 to 1935. During his tenure as manager of the firm, he also served a term as president of the Kansas Lumbermen's Association and as a member of the board of directors of the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce. He married Charlotte Stellhorn of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, on May 28 in 1919 (some sources say 1920). The couple had two children, Patricia (1922) and Robert (1925). Houston was elected mayor of Newton, Kansas
Newton, Kansas
Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,132. Newton is located north of Wichita and is included in the Wichita metropolitan statistical area...
, in 1927, serving two two-year terms. He was elected secretary of the Kansas Democratic State Central Committee in 1934, serving for a year. Houston was also active in the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
and in Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
.
Congressional career
Houston was elected to the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
by the voters of Kansas' 5th Congressional District in 1934. The incumbent, William Augustus Ayres
William Augustus Ayres
William Augustus Ayres was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas.William A. Ayres was born in Elizabethtown, Illinois. He moved with his parents to Sedgwick County, Kansas, in 1881. He attended the common schools and Garfield University in Wichita, Kansas...
, resigned from Congress on August 21, 1934, to accept an appointment to the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
. Somewhat surprisingly, Houston easily defeated Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Ira C. Watson 57 percent to 36.2 percent.
He won re-election two years later with 60 percent of the vote over Republican challenger J.B. Patterson. Houston barely defeated Republican Stanley Taylor in 1938, 43,990 to 43,480. In a rematch in 1940, Houston more handily defeated Taylor by a 5,500-vote margin (58,436 to 52,901).
During his tenure in Congress, Houston was a member of the House Committee on Appropriations
United States House Committee on Appropriations
The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...
.
The 1940 census led to redistricting which pitted Houston against Edward Herbert Rees
Edward Herbert Rees
Edward Herbert Rees was a U.S. Representative from Kansas. Born on a farm near Emporia, Kansas, Rees attended the public schools and the Kansas State Teachers' College at Emporia...
, the incumbent Republican in Kansas' 4th congressional district
Kansas's 4th congressional district
Kansas's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Based in the south central part of the state, the district encompasses 11 counties including the city of Wichita....
. Rees easily defeated Houston, 55,612 to 44,333. Republican Clifford R. Hope
Clifford R. Hope
Clifford R. Hope was a U.S. Representative from Kansas. Born in Birmingham, Iowa, Hope attended public schools and Nebraska Wesleyan University, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He served during the First World War, as a second lieutenant. He served in the Kansas House of Representatives...
, who had once held the 7th congressional district
Kansas's 7th congressional district
Kansas's 7th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in the state of Kansas is a defunct congressional district.-List of representatives:-References:*...
(it had been eliminated due to redistricting) won the new 5th district seat once held by Houston.
NLRB career
Houston's strong support for Roosevelt in Congress was rewarded when President Roosevelt appointed him on March 5, 1943, to succeed William M. Leiserson on the National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
(NLRB). His nomination was not well-received. NLRB chairman Dr. Harry A. Millis
Harry A. Millis
Harry Alvin Millis was an American civil servant, economist, and educator and who was prominent in the first four decades of the 20th century. He was a prominent educator, and his writings on labor relations were described at his death by several prominent economists as "landmarks"...
had supported NLRB general counsel Robert B. Watts, and had urged Roosevelt repeatedly to appoint someone with extensive credentials in labor relations (which Houston lacked). Roosevelt also passed over Lloyd K. Garrison
Lloyd K. Garrison
Lloyd Kirkham Garrison was an American lawyer. He was Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School, but also served as chairman of the "first" National Labor Relations Board, chairman of the National War Labor Board, and chair of the New York City Board of Education...
, Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School and former chair of the National Labor Board
National Labor Board
The National Labor Board was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933 to handle labor disputes arising under the National Industrial Recovery Act .-Establishment, structure and procedures:...
(NLB) in the early 1930s; Dr. George W. Taylor
George W. Taylor (professor)
George W. Taylor was a notable professor of industrial relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is credited with founding the academic field of study known as industrial relations. He served in several capacities in the federal government, most notably as a mediator...
, vice chairman of the National War Labor Board
National War Labor Board
The National War Labor Board was a federal agency created in April 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson. It was composed of twelve representatives from business and labor, and co-chaired by Former President William Howard Taft. Its purpose was to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers in...
and a former NLB regional director; and Edward C. Witte, a noted professor of labor relations at the University of Wisconsin.
Houston had no labor relations experience prior to his service on the NRLB. For the first several year of his first five-year term on the board, Houston relied heavily on his legal staff for advice. United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
solicitor general Gerard D. Reilly was appointed to the NRLB in September 1942 to replace the departing Edwin S. Smith. Reilly was deeply conservative, and some staff at the NLRB considered him reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
. Reilly also had a great deal of influence on Houston during Houston's first few years in office. But as Houston gained experience, he forged an alliance with the NLRB's moderate chairman, Harry Millis, who was a firm believer in collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
and labor unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
. In his second five-year term on the NLRB, Houston became the most consistently pro-labor member of the board. Reilly came to believe that NLRB Chief Trial Examiner Frank Bloom (a left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
lawyer) heavily influenced Houston in these later years.
Houston's renomination to the Board proved to be something of a watershed. In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act
Taft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
expanded the NLRB's size from three to five members. President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
had appointed one relatively liberal and one relatively conservative member to the Board after the Act's passage. Houston was renominated for the NLRB on April 12, 1948. His renomination was seen as something of a restoration of a "New Deal" (e.g., liberal) coalition on the NLRB, one which would interpret federal labor law more expansively and in favor of labor unions.
Houston was involved in several important votes during his tenure on the NRLB. Almost immediately after joining the board, he allied with Chairman Millis in voting to overturn a previous decision of the NLRB and deny plant foremen the right to join unions (as they were supervisors and not employees). But just two years later, he and Millis allied again to overturn their 1943 decision. Houston and new NLRB Chairman Paul Herzog again combined in 1946 to uphold the 1945 decision. In 1945, he again allied with Millis to force the resignation of Charles T. Douds, the board's controversial and liberal Northeast regional director. In 1947, he was embroiled along with the Board in a major dispute over the Taft-Hartley Act. The Act had become law over President Truman's veto in the summer of 1947, and among its many provisions was a requirement that all elected union leaders file an affidavit with the NLRB asserting that they were not now and never had been a member of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
and that they disavowed any future attempt to overthrow the United States government by force. The question before the NLRB was whether this applied to union leaders who were elected not to sit on the executive board of their home union but to serve on the board of directors of some other federation, organization, or body. The NLRB's general counsel ruled that members of the boards of directors of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
and Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
must sign these oaths. This was a concern, since many of these individuals had been communists in their youth (although they were no longer). Since they did not hold elected positions on their home unions, they had escaped the Taft-Hartley Act's anti-communist oath provisions, but the general counsel's ruling put their service in jeopardy. Houston, along with three other members of the NLRB overruled the general counsel in a series of votes in September and October 1947.
Retirement and death
Houston retired from the NLRB on August 27, 1953. His first wife having died, Houston married Ireta Robinson on November 16, 1945.Houston moved to Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southwest of the county seat of Santa Ana...
. He died there April 29, 1975, after suffering a heart attack. He is interred in Melrose Abbey Cemetery, Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
.