Clarence Morley
Clarence Joseph Morley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 24th Governor of Colorado | |
| In office January 13, 1925 – January 11, 1927 | |
| Lieutenant | Sterling Byrd Lacy |
| Preceded by | William E. Sweet |
| Succeeded by | Billy Adams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 9, 1869 Dyersville, Iowa |
| Died | November 15, 1948 (aged 79) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Political party | Republican |
Clarence Joseph Morley (February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948) was the 24th Governor of Colorado from 1925 to 1927, serving one two-year term. He was a Republican. Before becoming governor he was a judge in Denver, Colorado. He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan which was an important force in Colorado politics during the 1920s and largely responsible for the division of the Republican and Democratic votes that enabled him to take office.[1]
Tenure as governor
Morely took office on January 16, 1925, in a ceremony at the Municipal Auditorium in Denver.[2]
Virulently anti-Catholic, Morley was one of the most extreme governors in Colorado history.[3] The Center for Colorado & the West at the Auraria Library wrote:
His vitriol toward all things un-American was thinly veiled as an attack on Catholics, and further, on immigration. His goal wasn’t simply to eliminate the use of demon alcohol by banning the use of sacramental wine; it was to stop key elements of Catholic practice, thus the religion itself. Morley espoused the view that if public schools weren't good enough for Catholic children, then Catholics should not teach in public schools. He agitated for the University of Colorado to fire all non-Protestant (that is, Catholic and Jewish) professors.[3]
Morely's administration was marked by "scandals and ineptitude."[4]
Mail fraud conviction
After leaving office, Morley established C.J. Morley & Company, a stock brokerage firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1935, Morley was arrested on charges from mail fraud; he was convicted for 21 counts of mail fraud and using political influences to defraud customers. Sentenced to five years in Leavenworth Prison, he died three years after being released. He is buried in Denver at Fairmount Cemetery.[5]
References
- ^ Colorado State Archives
- ^ Clarence J. Morley is Inaugurated Governor, Kiowa County Press (January 16, 1925).
- ^ a b Lynn Bartels, Bob Beauprez bypasses KKK member, attacks Hickenlooper as most "extreme" governor, Denver Post (March 4, 2014).
- ^ Ed Quillen, Welcome to Kolorado, Klan Kountry at Colorado Springs Independent (May 22, 2003).
- ^ Governor Clarence Morley, National Governors Association.
External links
- 1869 births
- 1948 deaths
- People from Dyersville, Iowa
- American fraudsters
- American prisoners and detainees
- Colorado Republicans
- Governors of Colorado
- Ku Klux Klan members
- Republican Party state governors of the United States
- American politicians convicted of fraud
- Politicians from Oklahoma City
- Critics of the Catholic Church
- Colorado politicians convicted of crimes