E. W. Marland
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| Ernest Whitworth Marland | |
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10th Governor of Oklahoma
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| In office January 15, 1935 – January 9, 1939 |
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| Lieutenant | James E. Berry |
| Preceded by | William H. Murray |
| Succeeded by | Leon C. Phillips |
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| Born | May 8, 1874 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 3, 1941 (aged 67) Ponca City, Oklahoma |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | 1) Mary Virginia Collins Marland 2) Lydie Roberts Marland |
| Profession | Lawyer, Businessperson |
Ernest Whitworth Marland (May 8, 1874 – October 3, 1941) was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.
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[edit] Career as an Oilman
Ernest Whitworth Marland was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 8, 1874. Marland studied to be an attorney, receiving his LL.B. from the University of Michigan Law School at the age of nineteen in 1893. Marland would move back to Pittsburgh and would step up private practice. Through his experiences as an attorney, Marland became interested in geology and entered the oil industry. At the age of 33, Marland had become a self made millionaire.
Unfortunately for Marland, the millions he had amassed were lost following the panic of 1907. By 1908, Marland was broke and without a job. Hoping to start his life over again, Marland moved to the new state of Oklahoma. Once in Oklahoma, Marland settled in Ponca City, Oklahoma and resumed his oil career founding the 101 Ranch Oil Company. Marland was successful in reestablishing his fortune, and by 1920, his fortune was estimated at $85,000,000 (roughly $910,000,000 in modern dollars).
In 1920, Marland founded the Marland Oil Company in Ponca City, (which was incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 1920) and would serve as its president. Later, the Marland Oil Company would merge with Continental Oil and Transportation Company (CONOCO). Misfortune would strike Marland again. Due to his company’s association with J.P. Morgan, Marland’s oil empire would be destroyed and Marland would lose all of his wealth for the second time in his life.
[edit] The Pioneer Woman Statue
In the early 1920s, Marland decided to create a statue commemorating the Pioneer Woman.[1] Marland was asked, "E. W., why don't you have sculptor Jo Davidson make a statue to the vanishing American, a Ponca, Otoe, or an Osage - a monument of great size?"[1] Marland answered "the Indian is not the vanishing American - it's the pioneer woman."[1]
Marland commissioned twelve miniature 3-foot sculptures that were submitted by US and international sculptors as models for the Pioneer Woman statue.[2] The commission that Marland paid each sculptor has been variously cited as $10,000[3] and as $2,000[4] for each submission. The miniatures traveled to twelve cities where they were viewed by 750,000 people who cast votes for their favorite.[2]
The twelve submissions included "Protective" by John Gregory; "Determined" by Maurice Sterne; "Challenging" by Hermon Atkins MacNeil; "Affectionate" by James E. Fraser; "Self-Reliant" by Alexander Stirling Calder; "Fearless" by Wheeler Williams; "Heroic" by Mario Korbel; "Adventurous" by F. Lynn Jenkins; "Sturdy" by Mahonri Young and "Faithful" by Arthur Lee; "Trusting" by Jo Davidson; and "Confident" by Bryant Baker.[3] The New York Times reported on March 27, 1927 that the exhibition had arrived in New York City and that it had attracted "more interest than any exhibition of sculpture New York has known in a long while."[5] The twelve models were exhibited for three weeks in the Reinhardt Galleries and Bryant Baker's model was the winner of the first place in the New York balloting.[5] The Times Reported that "Baker not only won first honors, but was the last man to enter the contest having no more than a month to prepare his model and obtain a casting."[5] Marland pronounced himself pleased with the models.[5] "I believe all of the sculptors have done well," said Marland.[5] "We could select any one of the twelve figures and get an excellent interpretation of the frontier woman. the decision will be a hard one to make. I expect to be guided largely by public taste, but the final decision will be my own. This national vote is going to show exactly what the American people think about one of the greatest of their women," Marland added.[5]
The exhibition touched a popular chord in American culture of the time.[6] The New York Times reported on March 27, 1927 that among those who visited the exhibition at the Reinhardt Galleries was 91 year old Betty Wollman who as a young bride had journeyed from St. Louis to Leavenworth Kansas in 1855 and had once entertained Abraham Lincoln as a dinner guest in the Wollman household in Leavenworth long before Lincoln was a candidate for President.[6] Wollman spoke about women's role during pioneer days in the old west and congratulated Marland for his proposal to erect a statue to the Pioneer Woman.[6] "Mr. Marland is to be congratulated for doing this in commemoration of these early women of the West," said Wollman.[6] "The hardships were many, and the courage and self-denial of the women who worked side by side with their husbands and sons and brothers in those primitive days are largely responsible for the development of the Middle Western States, now so rich in everything that goes to make life worth living."[6]
The winning statue nationwide was "Confident," produced by British-born American sculptor Bryant Baker.[3] It is believed that Marland's personal favorite was "Trusting" by Jo Davidson who had also sculpted statues of Marland, his stepdaughter (later his wife) Lydie, and her brother George.[3]
Baker's sculpture was unveiled in Ponca City in a public ceremony on April 22, 1930 when forty thousand guests came to hear Will Rogers pay tribute to Oklahoma's pioneers.[7] President Hoover addressed the nation over a nation-wide radio network for the commemoration of the statue.[8] "It was those women who carried the refinement, the moral character and spiritual force into the West," said Hoover.[8] "Not only they bore great burdens of daily toil and the rearing of families, but there were intent that their children should have a chance, that the doors of opportunity," added Hoover.[8] The finished statue of the Pioneer Woman Statue was 27 feet high and weighed 12,000 pounds.[7]
[edit] Political career
[edit] Election to Congress
Despite his big business background, Marland was not a Republican. Marland’s misfortune with Morgan and other eastern monopoly giants gave him a distrust of them, forcing him to register as a Democrat. Marland supported Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs from the beginning of FDR’s presidency. Through his association with FDR, Marland was elected to the United States House of Representatives to represent Oklahoma’s 8th Congressional District in 1932. Marland would be the first Democrat to hold that seat in 15 years.
Marland would only serve in Congress for a single term, from 1933 to 1935. Marland declined reelection after he placed his name in the Democratic primaries to succeed Governor William H. Murray. Not only did Marland receive the Democratic nomination but also the election in November to serve as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.
[edit] Governor of Oklahoma
On January 15, 1935, Marland was inaugurated as Governor. Immediately, Marland instituted a policy that would become known as the “Little New Deal.” From the state, the Oklahoma House and Oklahoma Senate were not in favor of his plans. The Oklahoma Legislature was more focused on reducing the state’s massive deficit (roughly a quarter of billion dollars in modern currency). Marland, an avid supporter of FDR, stressed the need for the state government to work with the federal government.
Despite Governor Marland’s efforts, most Oklahoman politicians never fully embraced the New Deal. What the Legislature would accept was a homestead exemption provision to the state’s ad valorem taxes, increased school funds, and raised the state sales tax to two percent. Marland introduced legislation that appropriated funds raised by the sales tax to go towards the handicapped, the elderly, and dependent children.
At this time, Oklahoma had over 150,000 heads of families that were unemployed and 80,000 heads of families on relief. To help counter this, Marland asked the Fifteenth Legislature for a board to craft policy to develop the physical aspects of the state and to create a more diverse economy. The Legislature responded with the fifteen member State Planning and Resources Board. The Board worked with FDR’s Works Progress Administration to create jobs through such things as dam building and tree planting. Even the State Highway Department expanded its road work to create thousands of jobs.
Though he did not balance the state’s budget, Marland was essential to the creation of both the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Interstate Oil Compact. Through the Compact, six oil producing states agreed to practice oil preservation and establish a fair price for petroleum. The governing body of the Compact was a commission, of which Marland was elected to serve as the first president.
Marland’s term as Governor ended on January 9, 1939. Upon leaving the Governorship, Marland had created jobs for over 90,000 Oklahomans on over 1,300 WPA project. He would return to Ponca City where he tried to recreate the Marland Oil Company. Marland’s last event in his political career came when he unsuccessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1940.
Marland died of a heart condition on October 3, 1941 at the age of 67. He is buried in Ponca City.
[edit] Personal life
Marland was married twice. His first marriage was on November 5, 1903 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, to Mary Virginia (Collins) Marland, which union lasted until her death on June 6, 1926, in Ponca City, Kay County, Oklahoma. Two years later, on July 14, 1928, he married, also in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lydie (Roberts) Marland, which union lasted until his death on October 3, 1941.
[edit] Commemoration
His home in Ponca City, the E. W. Marland Manson, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
[edit] State of the State Speeches
- First State of the State Speech
- Second State of the State Speech
- Third State of the State Speech
- Fourth State of the State Speech
[edit] Citations
- ^ a b c "Life and Death of an Oilman: The Career of E.W. Marland" y John Joseph Mathews. Publsihed 1974 by the University of Oklahoma Press.
- ^ a b Time Magazine. "Pioneers" January 2, 1928.
- ^ a b c d The Ponca City News. "Pioneer Woman Models Return to Ponca City" by Louise Abercrombie. May 23, 2000
- ^ Toone, Thomas E., Mahonri Young: His Life and Art, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1997
- ^ a b c d e f New York Times. "Pioneer Woman Seen in Bronze." March 20, 1927.
- ^ a b c d e New York Times. "Statue of the Pioneer Woman Stirs Memories of Long Ago." March 27, 1927.
- ^ a b PoncaCity.com "The Pioneer Woman"
- ^ a b c New York Times. "The Pioneer Woman Praised by Hoover." April 23, 1930.
[edit] Sources and External Links
| Preceded by William H. Murray |
Governor of Oklahoma 1935–1939 |
Succeeded by Leon C. Phillips |
| Preceded by Milton C. Garber |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 8th congressional district 1933–1935 |
Succeeded by Phil Ferguson |
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