The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974 Page: 344
568 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
that the cabinet should contain one or two members who had the "confi-
dence and esteem of the Democratic members of the House and Senate."
Burleson, he declared, met this requirement admirably."s
Wilson remained unconvinced. When House again suggested Burleson
for postmaster general in mid-February, Wilson replied that the congress-
man might build a political machine and might not be "able to hold down
the place." House countered with the argument that such a machine, if
built, would be Wilson's. Apparently Wilson was receptive. After another
session with the president-elect, House confided to his diary on February
14 that the cabinet was "fairly well determined" with Burleson as postmas-
ter general. Burleson wrote Gregory on February 23 that "I think, now, I
will be in the cabinet." That same day Wilson offered him the post.19
Credit for Burleson's appointment belongs to several persons. Burleson and
his wife believed that Mrs. Wilson influenced the decision.20 James Kerney,
publisher of the Trenton Times, claimed that Thomas Pence, a newsman
prominent in the campaign, and Tumulty deserved much of the credit.21
Obviously the support of Underwood and other powerful legislative figures
who wanted a sympathetic voice in the administration was significant. Ac-
curate determination of House's influence is impossible, but it seems fair
and logical to conclude that his help alone would not have been sufficient
and that without it the appointment would have been unlikely.
The contrasting personalities and value systems of Burleson and Wilson
make understandable the president's reluctance to appoint the congress-
1SUnderwood to Wilson, January 13, 1913, Burleson Papers (Archives, University of
Texas, Austin).
19House "Diary"; Burleson to Gregory, February 23, 1913; Wilson to Burleson, Feb-
ruary 23, 1913, Burleson Papers (Library of Congress). Several Texans active in the
Wilson cause, notably Thomas M. Love, opposed Burleson's appointment and supported
that of Robert L. Henry, another Texas congressman. For a description of their maneu-
vering, see Lewis L. Gould, Progressives and Prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the
Wilson Era (Austin, 1973), 99-1oo.
20Mrs. Bryant Smith (daughter of Albert Sidney Burleson) to A. A., April 28, 1966,
interview; Ray Stannard Baker, "Memorandum of a Conversation with Albert S. Burle-
son, March I7-19g, I927," Ray Stannard Baker Papers (Library of Congress), cited
hereafter as Burleson-Baker "Memorandum." This lengthy memorandum, in essence Bur-
leson's memoir of his connection with the Wilson administration, was written by Ray
Stannard Baker after a three-day interview in 1927. Because of memory lapses and in-
herent bias, memoirs are usually less dependable, of course, than other sources. When
it was possible to check information in this memorandum against other sources, however,
relatively few and largely insignificant inconsistencies were found. Most historians of the
Wilson era have used the memorandum. Moreover, both Baker and Josephus Daniels,
another colleague of the Wilson era, in later years praised the clarity and accuracy of
Burleson's memory.
21James Kerney, The Political Education of Woodrow Wilson (New York, 1926),
295-298.344
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974, periodical, 1973/1974; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117148/m1/394/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.