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Emmet Montgomery Reily | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hon. E.M. Reily | |
| Governor of Puerto Rico | |
| In office July 30, 1921 – February 16, 1923 | |
| President | Warren G. Harding |
| Preceded by | José E. Benedicto (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Juan Bernardo Huyke (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Emmet Montgomery Reily (1866-10-21)October 21, 1866 |
| Died | October 31, 1954(1954-10-31) (aged 88) Jackson City, Missouri |
| Party | Republican |
| Profession | businessman |
Emmet Montgomery Reily (October 21, 1866 – October 31, 1954), sometimesE. Mont Reily was aTexas and, later,Missouripolitician who served a number of local offices, especially inFort Worth andKansas City. He was active in theRepublican Party. He was later appointed as thegovernor of Puerto Rico by PresidentWarren G. Harding.
Reily was born inSedalia, Missouri, but moved toFort Worth, Texas, as a teenager, where he worked both in thenewspaper andreal estate businesses. During this time, he first became active in local politics and was appointed as thechairman of the Republican City Committee (which he served on for eight years) and the Republican County Committee, as well as being twice nominated forCounty Clerk. (However, he never won that office.)
In 1892, Reily went to Kansas City and was appointed Secretary to the Mayor for two terms. Following that, he returned to private life but was subsequently appointed as Chief Deputy to theCounty Assessor. In 1902, he was appointed as theassistant postmaster for Kansas City.
In 1901, Reily founded theRoosevelt Club, which had a stated goal of nominatingVice PresidentTheodore Roosevelt forPresident in the 1904 elections. The group was disbanded when Roosevelt became president after the assassination ofWilliam McKinley in September of that year.
As a newspaper editor in Kansas City, Reily was said to be the first prominent figure to endorseWarren G. Harding for the office of President of the United States. When Harding was elected president in 1920, he is said to have sought an appointive office to which he could nominate Reily as a reward for his loyalty without giving him too much power or presence in Washington.
On July 30, 1921, President Harding nominated Reily asGovernor of Puerto Rico. During his time in office, he was a strong supporter of "Americanism", the introduction of some aspects of mainland United States culture and their advancement over native Puerto Rican culture. During his inauguration address, he insisted that the United States flag ("Old Glory") should be the only flag used over the island. Additionally, he placed several mainland politicians in prominent positions in the Puerto Rican government.
Although Reily was a strong proponent of "Americanism", he reportedly saw Spanish culture—such as that of Texas, Florida, and California—as part of this culture. During his term as governor, SpanishRenaissance Revival became the "official"architectural style of the territory for public buildings, and the newPuerto Rico Capitol Building was erected in that style.
During his time in office, Reily advocated reducing the use ofSpanish in schools in favor of teaching exclusively inEnglish.
Reily was an extremely unpopular governor. A common nickname for him, given by the Puerto Rican populace, was"Moncho Reyes", a name closely resembling Reily's and giving the impression ("Moncho" being a common countryside nickname for the name "Ramón") that Reily was an uncivilizedhick. He became involved in disputes with numerous political factions in Puerto Rico, some of which called for his removal from office. Reily reported, in a letter to Harding, that he had received death threats. He was also the subject of corruption allegations and an investigation by Puerto Rican local officials.
Under pressure to leave office, and suffering from an illness he had contracted during a return visit to the continental United States, Reily resigned as governor on February 16, 1923. He was succeeded by the U.S.RepresentativeHorace Mann Towner, the Chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs, which had jurisdiction over Puerto Rico.
A collection of original correspondence between Reily and President Harding is archived in the Manuscripts Division of theNew York Public Library.
| Preceded by José E. Benedicto (Acting) | Governor of Puerto Rico July 30, 1921 – February 16, 1923 | Succeeded by Juan Bernardo Huyke (Acting) |
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