Ken Bridges/Contributing Writer
At the beginning of the 20th century, Texas was moving ahead. The spirit of reform was in the air as the people demanded accountability from business and government alike. Gov. Thomas M. Campbell, who served from 1907-1911 dedicated himself to progress for the people.
Thomas Mitchell Campbell was born in Rusk is East Texas in 1856. His father was a farmer who had moved from Georgia. His father was a respected member of the community who served as Longview’s first mayor in 1871 and later as a justice of the peace and Gregg County sheriff. As a young man, Campbell was also friends with James Stephen Hogg, another future Texas governor.
In 1873, Campbell enrolled at Trinity University with hopes of becoming a lawyer. However, he struggled with being able to afford his tuition and dropped out. He continued to study the law informally and was admitted to the state bar in 1878. That same year, he also married and started his own law office in Longview.
In 1889, he became the attorney for the troubled International-Great Northern Railroad. He guided the line through bankruptcy and later moved to Palestine to serve as its general manager. He resigned from the railroad in 1897 and moved into politics.
In 1906, at his old friend James S. Hogg’s urging, Campbell ran for governor, his first run for any office. After a bitter campaign, Campbell won the Democratic Primary and the election.
Insurance reform became a special target for Campbell. The Robertson Act of 1907 regulated life insurance rates and mandated that out-of-state insurance companies operating in Texas had to invest a portion of their revenue in Texas itself.
In 1909, he announced to the state that because of the state’s new property assessment policies, Texas enjoyed a budget surplus of nearly $900,000. The total appraised value of Texas properties topped $1 billion for the first time. This also allowed school funding to rise by more than half to $9.4 million and allowed schools to adopt calendars longer than a six-month school year and also increase per-student spending by a third.
Campbell called two special sessions that year to force the legislature to act on reform measures. Legislators fought and argued, with several having to be escorted out of the House of Representatives. Eventually, they passed measures forcing railroads to be held liable for employee injuries on the job and strengthened state antitrust laws. The legislature also strengthened alcohol regulations and organized a standard ballot for all local option wet-dry elections. After fierce debate, the state mandated that banks had to guarantee the safety of customer deposits, either using a state protection fund or a bond system. For the first time, Texas bank customers would not necessarily lose their savings if the bank were robbed or failed.
And for the first time, the legislature approved funding to bring electricity and modern plumbing into state-owned buildings. Many Texas communities already had electricity, but installation in government buildings lagged far behind. As a result of the bill, even the governor’s mansion received electricity for the first time.
Several new regulatory agencies came into being under Campbell’s leadership. The Department of Insurance and Banking was created to regulate the practices of those industries in the state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was created to gather information on employment and wages. A new Texas State Board of Health was created in 1909 as well as the Texas State Library and Historical Commission to preserve state records and artifacts for future generations.
Campbell left office in 1911.
He made one last attempt at elected office, losing a primary race for US Senate against incumbent Sen. Charles A. Culberson. Campbell spent his last years as a lawyer in Palestine and working behind the scenes in Democratic politics until his death in 1923.
Dr. Ken Bridges is a proud father, professor, native Texan, and author of seven books. His columns appear in 85 newspapers. He can be contacted by e-mail at drkenbridges@gmail.com.