Evening star., 1937-08-08
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ware through the Georgia country
side. He has worked in livery stable,
and he has taken down shorthand as
a court reporter. Time was when his
yearnlng ambition was TO possess
complete suit of store clothes. for his
own were sticky with the tobacco gum
from the crops on his fathers farm
in Graves County.
For five years he swept floors. made
fires, took out ashes and cut kindlinRs.
to pay his way through little Meth
odlst institution of learning-Marvin
College. He read up, while there. on
what men like Clay, Webster and JET
ferson had done in Washington After
five years at Marvin College Barkley
went to Emory College in Atlanta,
and he secured the county rights to
earthen kitchenware to help defray
expenses. He secured, as well, a black
horse, with flowing name and tail and,
balanced between saddlebags filled
with kitchen utensils, went about
earning his tuition
Later he decided to attend the law
school Of the University of Virginia,
and off he rode. He had taken up the
study OF shorthand and that gave him
an opportunity to serve in the circuit
courts as reporter. He read for his
bar examinations in the Office of
Judge w. S. Bishop Of Paducah, KY
the Judge Bishop who was immortal
lied as "Old Judge Priest" by Irwin
S. Cobb
In 1901 Barkley was admitted to the
Paducah bar and four years later was
elected prosecuting attorney Tor Nc
Cracken County. In 1909 he was
chosen Judge of the county court.
DURING the great Wilson wave OF
1912 Barkley was swept into the
House Of Representatives, taking the
seat of Ollie NJ. James, who went to
the Senate. He won a place in the
Interstate Commerce Committee and,
as a member of that body, took part
in framing war time legisla ton that
authorized the Government to take
over the railroads. He helped to pass
the famous Adamson eight-hour rail-
road law, and when the carriers were
turned back under the transportation
act, he assisted in fashioning that act.
Later, as an improvement over the
transportation act, he fought for the
Iberalizing Howell-Barkley bill. q
measure that started a great fight.
So great a fight, in fact, that for the
first time in legislative history Bark
ley and his colleagues invoked the
rule under which, by petition, 218
House members may discharge COM
mittee from consideration OF a bill.
This was because 1t had proved dim
cult to extricate the measure from
committee.
While the measure was defeated for
that session by a fllibuster, railroad
executives and workers were brought
together during the Summer and Fall
and won to an agreement that led to
almost unanimous passage OF the bill
in the December session.
AS result, when Barkley ran for
the Senate in 1925 against Richard F.
Ernst railroad unions gave him strong
backing.
Barkley was also interested in high
way improvement and introduced the
first Federal aid law for roads. In
1918 he introduced . measure that
Senator George w. Norris later sue
ceeded in getting through Congress
for the abolition of lame duck" ses-
sions.
During his days in the House and
also in the Senate Barkley was known
as an outstanding dry" on the liquor
question. He was stanch supporter
of prohibition for years, but in 1892, at
the Democratic National Convention
at Chicago. at the nomination Of
Franklin D. Roosevelt for the first
time. Barkley, as keynoter and tenn
porary chairman, declared for sub
mission Of the repeal amendment, Gre
ating thereby a sensation in the con-
vention.
In 1880, during the administration
Of President Hoover, Barkley took the
lead in a fight on many Of the sched-
ules Of the Hawley- -Smoot tariff bill.
A LWAYs q liberal, Barley stead
= fastly supported President Roose-
velt's New Deal program from the BE-
ginning. In fact, he wss . prou,i-