James Hubert Price, Governor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hubert_Price

James Hubert Price (September 7, 1878 – November 22, 1943) was an American Democratic politician who was elected 53rd Governor of Virginia in 1937, during the Great Depression and became known as the Commonwealth's "New Deal Governor." Over the opposition of the Byrd Organization, Price, a Virginia attorney and businessman, passed many social programs and implemented other federal programs to benefit Virginians. Price had previously represented Richmond as one of its delegates in the Virginia House of Delegates for over a decade (1916–1930), as well as served as Lieutenant Governor for two terms beginning in 1930.

Early and family life

Price was born near Organ Cave in Greenbrier County, West Virginia to Charles William Price and the former Nancy C. Boone, both of Lewisburg, West Virginia. His parents moved to Staunton, Virginia, where he was raised and where his closest relatives lived by the time World War I began. Price attended and received a business degree from Dunsmore Business College in 1898. He then taught accounting at the college and established his own accounting practice. In 1907 he began legal studies at the Washington and Lee Law School and graduated in 1909.

On October 2, 1918, about a month after the 37-year old registered for the draft (having become a legal advisor to local draft boards), he married Lilian Martin in Washington, D.C. They would have two children: James Price (1920–1991) and Lillian Price Eberle (1925–2016). Price was very active in the Freemasons and Shriners fraternal organizations, serving as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia Masons (1922 to 1924) and as Imperial Recorder for the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America from 1927 until his death.

Career

Upon admission to the Virginia bar, Price began legal practice in Staunton, but soon moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1910, where he practiced corporate law.

In 1916, he won the first of what would become seven terms in the Virginia House of Delegates as one of five delegates representing Richmond. That year marked a major turnover in Richmond's delegation: only Edward R. Fuller who had been selected to fill the term of the deceased D.L. Toney, was re-elected from the 1914 Richmond house delegation. Price would serve alongside Fuller until 1928. He also served alongside James P. Jones and Albert Orlando Boschen for several terms, and for lesser periods alongside Richard W. Carrington, Graham B. Hobson, William M. Myers, T. Gray Haddon, George Luther Wilcox, Charles W. Crowder, J. Fulmer Bright, James R. Sheppard Jr., Elben C. Folkes, J. Vaughan Gary and S.S.P. Patterson in the Richmond delegation to various General Assembly sessions.

Virginia voters elected Price Lieutenant Governor in 1929 (the state's 23rd). As the Great Depression began, Price could soon see that Governor John G. Pollard, a member of the Byrd Organization selected by Harry F. Byrd as his successor, was cutting state employees' salaries rather than taking advantage of the programs created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, although a fellow Democrat.

Price could not secure Byrd's support to run for Governor in 1933. Instead Byrd selected former Congressman and State Corporation Commission member George C. Peery, who agreed with Byrd's "pay as you go" government funding philosophy. Price again won re-election as lieutenant governor unopposed.

In the 1937 general election, Price made known he would run with or without organizational support. He became the Democratic candidate and won 82.78% of the vote. He defeated Republican candidate John Powell Royall (a former State Senator), as well as Communist Donald Burke, and Prohibitionist James A. Edgerton.

As governor, Price secured the support of anti-Byrd forces including Francis Pickens Miller in the 1938 session in order to pass social legislation in the Virginia General Assembly. He also created public works projects (including a new buildings for the Library of Virginia, Virginia Supreme Court, and the Medical College of Virginia), implemented the Social Security Act, solicited federal funds for urban development, and advocated the inclusion of African Americans in the U.S. military, as well as prepared Virginia for what would become World War II. Price also helped rename two of the state's teachers' colleges Mary Washington University and James Madison University.

Price fired top Byrd lieutenant Everett R. Combs as state Comptroller and chairman of the Compensation board, incurring Byrd's wrath. While historian Douglas Southall Freeman labeled Price's 1940 legislative agenda one of the best on record, the Byrd Organization refused to pass such legislation until 1942, as Price left office due to the single term limit in the state Constitution and was succeeded by Colgate Darden.

Death and legacy

After his governorship ended, Price continued active with the Shriners as well as sold war bonds, but suffered a stroke about a year later. He died in Richmond on November 22, 1943, survived by his wife, son and daughter. He (and four months later his wife Lilian) was buried at Staunton's Thornrose cemetery.

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https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Price_James_Hubert_1878-1943

James H. Price was a governor of Virginia (1938–1942) who advocated for a series of progressive policies designed to help those hurt by the Great Depression of the 1930s. His most notable achievement came in 1938 with the enactment of an Old Age Assistance Plan that enabled Virginians to receive federal Social Security benefits. Throughout his term, Price battled with United States Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. and members of his political machine over policy and patronage issues. While Price won some of these battles, by 1940 Byrd and the Byrd Organization had derailed his legislative agenda, leaving a defeated Price to spend most of his last two years in office helping to mobilize Virginia for war.

James Hubert Price was born in Organ Cave in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, on September 7, 1878. He grew up in Staunton, Virginia, and graduated from the Washington and Lee Law School in 1909. He moved to Richmond to practice law in 1910. His political career began in 1916 when he won the first of seven consecutive terms representing Richmond in the House of Delegates. Two years later, he married Lillian Martin. The marriage produced two children. Price's growing family coincided with a blossoming social and political life. Long active in fraternal organizations, Price served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia Masons from 1922 to 1924, and as Imperial Recorder for the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America (more commonly known today as the Shriners of North America) from 1927 until his death. These positions provided him with a wealth of social and political contacts. In 1929, Price was elected lieutenant governor of Virginia.

Price's differences with Byrd, the former governor, became apparent as the Great Depression hit the nation in 1930. After Governor John Garland Pollard, a Byrd ally, failed to take decisive action, Price called unsuccessfully for a special legislative session to "provide [a] limited work relief program to reduce unemployment in rural areas" through highway construction. This idea ran counter to Byrd's conservative pay-as-you-go philosophy of highway construction. Lacking Byrd's support for governor, Price again ran for lieutenant governor and was reelected in 1933.

In July 1935, Price upended the normal selection process and announced his candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination two years ahead of the primary. The Byrd Organization searched but failed to find as attractive an alternative. Price eventually gained the endorsement of a majority of Organization supporters in December 1936. He won the general election easily in November 1937. Price achieved the bulk of his legislative success in his first session with the General Assembly in 1938. Most notably, the governor enabled elderly Virginians to receive Social Security benefits through the passage of the Old Age Assistance Plan. Other accomplishments included the establishment of a forty-eight-hour work week for women, an increase in teachers' salaries, and a law that made Virginia localities eligible for federal funds for slum clearance.

Price broke with the Byrd Organization when he fired top Byrd lieutenant Everett R. Combs as comptroller and chairman of the Compensation Board. This breach was furthered by rumors that Price had been given veto power by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt over federal appointments in Virginia. This rumor gained traction when Price became involved in an attempt to appoint a judge to the federal bench to whom both of Virginia's U.S. senators were opposed. These controversies set the stage for the 1940 session in which the Byrd-dominated legislature stonewalled Price's plan to reorganize the state's government. Price thus spent the last two years of his term readying Virginia for World War II.

Price's term as governor ended in 1942. He continued his work with the Shriners until his death on November 22, 1943 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Time Line

September 7, 1878 - James H. Price is born in West Virginia.

1909 - James H. Price graduates from Washington and Lee University Law School. He moves to Richmond to practice law in 1910.

1916–1930 - James H. Price serves seven consecutive terms in the General Assembly.

October 2, 1918 - James H. Price marries Lillian Martin.

1922 - James H. Price serves as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia Masons.

1927 - James H. Price serves as Imperial Recorder for the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America (also known as the Shriners of North America).

November 1929 - James H. Price wins election as lieutenant governor of Virginia.

November 1933 - James H. Price wins reelection as lieutenant governor of Virginia.

July 1935 - James H. Price announces his candidacy for Virginia governor two years before the primary.

December 1936 - James H. Price receives the endorsement of a majority of Byrd Organization supporters in his bid for the Virginia governorship.

November 1937 - James H. Price is elected governor of Virginia.

1938 - James H. Price passes a number of legislative bills, most notably the Old Age Assistant Plan that allows for Social Security benefits.

1940–1942 - Following his failure to reorganize the state government in the wake of opposition from Harry F. Byrd Sr., James H. Price prepares Virginia for World War II.

November 22, 1943 - James H. Price dies after suffering a brain hemorrhage.