DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Joseph Weldon Bailey. Born October 6, 1863.
Died April 13, 1929. And in between those two dates, he packed in enough drama for about three political careers. Bailey was a Democrat, and he represented this part of Texas first in the U.S.
House of Representatives, where he served from 1891 to 1901, and then in the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1901 to 1913. Two decades in the halls of power, and by most accounts he filled every room he walked into.
The marker calls him colorful and controversial, which in Texas political circles is less an insult and more a résumé item. He was known for two things above all else: superb oratorical skills, and a fiery temper. Now, you put those two together in a man, and you've got somebody who can make a crowd rise to its feet and, on a different afternoon, make that same crowd take a step back.
But here's where the story gets complicated, the way good stories do. His career was damaged, the marker says, by his involvement in the notorious Waters-Pierce Company anti-trust case. Notorious.
That's the word on the marker, and it earned it. Whatever ground Bailey lost there, he tried to win back. He stepped into the 1920 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary runoff election, put himself before the voters of Texas one more time, and placed second.
Second to Pat Neff. That's the kind of result that has a finality to it. The next year, 1921, he moved his law practice to Dallas.
The Senate chamber was behind him. The governor's office was not to be. But the man could still argue a case.
Joseph Weldon Bailey: two decades in Congress, one fiery reputation, and a story that doesn't let you look away.
What the marker says
(October 6, 1863-April 13, 1929) Democrat Joseph Weldon Bailey served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1891-1901) and in the U.S. Senate (1901-1913). A colorful and controversial politician, he was known for his superb oratorical skills and his fiery temper. His career was damaged by his involvement in the notorious Waters-Pierce Company anti-trust case, but in the 1920 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary runoff election he placed second to Pat Neff. He moved his law practice to Dallas in 1921. Recorded - 1994.