Clarence Cleveland Dill | |
|---|---|
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| United States Senator fromWashington | |
| In office March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Miles Poindexter |
| Succeeded by | Lewis B. Schwellenbach |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1919 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | J. Stanley Webster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1884-09-21)September 21, 1884 Fredericktown, Ohio, U.S.[1] |
| Died | January 14, 1978(1978-01-14) (aged 93) Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
| Resting place | Fairmount Memorial Park, Spokane, Washington |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | [2] [3] |
| Residence(s) | W1812 Riverside (1969–1978) W708 Cliff (1941–1969)[4] W508 Seventh, Spokane[5] |
| Alma mater | University of Delaware[5] Ohio Wesleyan University |
| Profession | Lawyer, educator, reporter |
Clarence Cleveland Dill (September 21, 1884 – January 14, 1978) was anAmerican politician from the state ofWashington. ADemocrat, he was elected to two terms each in both houses ofCongress.[5]
Dill was born inFredericktown, Ohio, and attendedOhio Wesleyan University, where he was a member of the socialfraternityPhi Kappa Psi.[6] He completed his undergraduate work at theUniversity of Delaware in 1907.[5]
As a young man, Dill was a teacher, and moved west toSpokane, Washington, in 1908. He taught English atSouth Central High School and was a newspaper reporter atThe Spokesman-Review in the summer.[5]
Dill became a lawyer in 1910, and soon entered politics.[3] He was elected to theU.S. House in1914 and1916 from the newly createdfifth district. On April 5, 1917, Dill was one of 50 representatives who voted againstdeclaring war on Germany.[7] His vote was controversial among his constituents, including members of his own party. The Spokane County Democratic Committee debatedcensuring Dill, but ultimately voted against doing so.[8] Dill was narrowly defeated for re-election in1918 bystate supreme court justiceJ. Stanley Webster.[9]
Dill was elected to theU.S. Senate in1922, beating two-term incumbent RepublicanMiles Poindexter. Dill campaigned as a supporter ofProgressive reform and pledged to repeal theEsch–Cummins Act and push for theColumbia Basin Project.[10] Poindexter, who was supported by major newspapers such asThe Spokesman-Review andThe Seattle Times, attempted to portray Dill as a radical for his war record and his support of thePlumb Plan.[11] Dill carriedSpokane County, much ofEastern Washington, and the urban counties of thePuget Sound region.[12] Dill was re-elected in1928, but did not seek a third term in1934. His election in 1928 marked the last time a candidate fromEastern Washington was elected U.S. Senator.[13]
In the Senate, he was the chief sponsor of both the1927 Radio Act and the1934 Communications Act, and was a staunch proponent of theGrand Coulee Dam.[3]
In June 1934, Congress amended the Watson-ParkerRailway Labor Act so it explicitly included non-operating train personnel and sleeping car companies. Senator Dill sponsored the new act since he thoughtPullman porters and maids should be black. A jurisdictional dispute between theOrder of Sleeping Car Conductors and theBrotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters had to be first settled in theAmerican Federation of Labor, but the effect was to quadruple membership in the Brotherhood. Black workers could now join the union without fear of losing their jobs.[14]
Dill ran forgovernor in 1940 but was narrowly defeated byRepublicanArthur B. Langlie. His last attempt at elective office was for the open seat in Congress from Spokane'sfifth district in1942, but was easily defeated byWalt Horan, the first Republican to win that district in twenty years.[15] Horan had lost toCharles Leavy by eleven points in the previous race in1940.
Dill then served as a member of the Columbia Basin Commission from 1945 to 1948, and as a special assistant to theU.S. Attorney General from 1946 to 1953. In between all of these jobs, he usually practiced law. He died in 1978 in Spokane at the age of 93, the last living U.S. senator elected before theGreat Depression and the last living senator to serve during the presidencies ofWarren G. Harding,Calvin Coolidge andHerbert Hoover.[3]
After he left the Senate, Dill sought adivorce from his wife in 1936, thefeministsuffragist and authorRosalie Gardiner Jones of New York. Dill claimed that Jones told his friends that he was "a political coward" for not seeking re-election in 1934, and that she buried dogs and garbage in the backyard.[16] Separated while he was still in office,[17] the well-publicized divorce proceedings began in late June 1936 in Spokane.[18][19][20] The court found in his favor:[2] he kept the house, she got the furniture.[21]
Dill met home economics educator Mabel Aileen Dickson (1905–1969) in November 1936 inWashington, DC, and they were married in May 1939.[22] Born inCrystal,North Dakota, she was raised inCanada; Dickson graduated from theUniversity of Alberta inEdmonton[23] and earned amaster's degree atWashington State College inPullman.[24][25][26] They were married for thirty years, until her death from a heart ailment.[5][27][28] Their 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) home,Cliff Aerie, built in 1941 at 708 W. Cliff Drive, is a Spokane landmark.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forUnited States Senator fromWashington (Class 1) 1922,1928 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Washington 1940 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's 5th congressional district March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1919 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Washington March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1935 Served alongside:Wesley Jones,Elijah Grammer,Homer Bone | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Most senior living U.S. senator (Sitting or former) December 28, 1972 – January 14, 1978 With:Burton K. Wheeler until 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825) | | |
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| Commerce (1825–1947) | ||
| Interstate Commerce (1887–1947) | ||
| Interstate and Foreign Commerce/Commerce (1947–1977) | ||
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation (1977–present) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
