DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Robert Ewing Thomason — and friend, this one earns every word. Now, if you wanted to design a Texan from scratch — someone who just refused to be done with public life — you might end up with a fellow something like Robert Ewing Thomason of El Paso. Attorney.
State legislator. Mayor. U.S.
Congressman. Federal Judge. More than fifty years given over to the machinery of government, and by the end of it all, he'd touched every branch of that tree.
He earned his law degree from the University of Texas in 1900, and he set up shop in Gainesville, where the voters went ahead and elected him both district attorney and county attorney. That's the kind of start that tells you something about a man. Then in 1912, Thomason made his move — west, all the way to El Paso, where he joined the law firm of Tom Lea, Jr.
By 1917 he was in the Texas Legislature, and he stayed there through 1921. And here's where it gets worth stoppin' for. He rose to Speaker of the House, and from that chair, he helped secure Texas's support for the 19th Amendment — the one that gave American women the right to vote.
He looked his fellow legislators in the eye and told them, plain as West Texas sky: "I want the American woman to walk by the side of the American man to the ballot box." In the 1920s, in Texas, that took something. In 1927, El Paso elected him mayor, and he ran on what he called a Clean Government ticket. During his time as mayor, he oversaw the construction of the first municipal airport in El Paso.
Then the voters sent him to Washington, where he served the 16th Congressional District from 1931 to 1947. Sixteen years in the House. He helped establish Big Bend National Park — that wild, gorgeous country down along the Rio Grande.
And as a member of the House Committee on Military Affairs, he oversaw the expansion of Fort Bliss, Biggs Army Air Field, and William Beaumont General Hospital. Then in 1947, President Harry S. Truman appointed him Federal Judge for the Western District of Texas.
And right here, in this very courthouse, Thomason presided over cases that bent the arc of history. The Thelma White Desegregation Case in 1955. The Clinton Jencks Perjury Trial, also 1955.
The Bearden Plane Hijacking Case in 1961. The Billie Sol Estes Fraud Trial in 1963. Landmark cases, every one.
Robert Ewing Thomason died in 1973 at the age of ninety-four, having served in all three branches of government. Legislative, executive, judicial — the whole structure of American governance, one man's life threaded through it like a single long, steady stitch. Some people pass through history.
Thomason helped hold it together.
What the marker says
Robert Ewing Thomason was an El Paso attorney, state legislator, mayor, U.S. Congressman and Federal Judge, who devoted more than fifty years of his life to public service. He earned a law degree from the University of Texas in 1900 and began his practice in Gainesville where he was elected district attorney and county attorney. In 1912, Thomason moved to El Paso, where he joined the law firm of Tom Lea, Jr. Thomason served in the Texas Legislature from 1917 to 1921. He was elected Speaker of the House and helped secure Texas" support for the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. He told fellow legislators "i want the American woman to walk by the side of the American man to the ballot box." In 1927, Thomason was elected mayor of El Paso on a "Clean Government" ticket. As mayor, he oversaw the construction of the first municipal airport. He was then elected to the U. S. Congress, where he served the 16th district from 1931 to 1947. He helped establish Big Bend National Park, and as a member of the house committee on military affairs, oversaw the expansion of Fort Bliss, Biggs Army Air Field and William Beaumont General Hospital. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman appointed Thomason Federal Judge for the Western District of Texas. In this courthouse, he presided over many landmark cases, including the Thelma White Desegregation Case (1955), Clinton Jencks Perjury Trial (1955), Bearden Plane Hijacking Case (1961), and Billie Sol Estes Fraud Trial (1963). Thomason died in 1973 at the age of 94, having served in all three branches of government.