Texas Legislature, House of Representatives, Bailey Investigation Committee:
An Inventory of the Stenographic Report at the Texas State Archives, 1907
Overview | ||
| Creator: | Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Bailey Investigation Committee. | |
| Title: | Stenographic report | |
| Dates: | 1907 | |
| Abstract: | The record of the Texas House of Representative's Bailey Investigation Committee consists of a stenographic report of the 1907 committee proceedings. The content of the report exclusively concerns the investigation of U. S. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey and the procedures of the committee. | |
| Quantity: | 0.94 cubic ft. | |
| Language | English. | |
Agency History
In compliance with a resolution passed in the Texas House of Representatives on about January 19, 1907 (30th Legislature, Regular Session) the Bailey Investigation Committee was established by Speaker of the House. The committee was authorized to contain seven members, but only six seem to have been appointed: Chair H.A. O'Neal, Vice-chair T.H. McGregor, J.A.L. Wolfe, I.A. Patton, T.D. Cobbs, and C.H. Jenkins. The committee operated exclusively during January and February of 1907 and was authorized to take testimony, subpoena witnesses, and probe all forty-two charges against U. S. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey. The Texas Senate appointed a separate committee to investigate Senator Bailey, but the two committees may possibly have cooperated to some degree.
Joseph Weldon Bailey became a United States Senator in 1901. During his senatorial term he was charged with illegally representing the Waters-Pierce Oil Company, which was expelled from Texas for violating the antitrust laws because of its connections with the Standard Oil trust. Bailey's relationship with Waters-Pierce was first investigated by the Texas Legislature in 1901, resulting in a recommendation that Bailey be exonerated on the grounds that he had not acted improperly. In 1906, however, during the course of litigation initiated by the State of Missouri against Waters-Pierce, Bailey's relationship to the company was again questioned. Though the Legislature voted to return him to the United States Senate on January 20, 1907, it also decided to investigate his relationship with Waters-Pierce in light of the Missouri disclosures. The proceedings initiated by the Bailey Investigation Committee revealed a loan from Pierce to Bailey as well as a number of large fees received by Bailey from various companies and individuals. Although the legislature adopted a report in February 1907 that again exonerated him of all charges of wrongdoing (see Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, 30th Legislature, Regular Session, 1907), he was never again elected to public office and he finished his career as a lawyer.
Scope and Contents
The record of the Texas House of Representative's Bailey Investigation Committee consists of a stenographic report of the 1907 committee proceedings. No other material relating to the activities of the committee is included. The report contains the testimony given before the committee, a copy of the authorizing legislation and the rules under which the committee functioned, and letters, telegrams, and reports read into the record. The content of the report exclusively concerns the investigation of U. S. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey and the procedures of the committee.
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.
Arrangement of the Records | ||
| The records are arranged in order by the page number of the stenographic report. | ||
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
None
Restrictions on Use
None
Index Terms | ||
| The terms listed here were used to catalog the records. The terms can be used to find similar or related records. | ||
| Personal Names: | ||
| Weldon, Joseph W.--(Joseph Weldon),--1863-1929. | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| Legislators--Texas. | ||
| Legislators--United States. | ||
| Governmental investigations--Texas. | ||
| Document Types: | ||
| Report--Legislative bodies--Texas--1907. | ||
| Testimony--Legislative bodies--Texas--1907. | ||
| Legislative records--Legislative bodies--Texas--1907. | ||
| Functions: | ||
| Investigating United States legislators. | ||
Related Material
The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive. |
||
| Texas State Archives | ||
| Texas Attorney-General's Office, Litigation files, cubic footage and possibly date span will change (currently 1880-1948 (bulk 1902-1940), 89 cubic ft.) [files for State of Texas vs. Waters-Pierce Oil Company, 1907, State of Texas vs. Standard Oil] | ||
| Publications | ||
| Please see Texana holdings for publications by and about Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey. The report described here may be found in published form in the Archives' Texana holdings as: | ||
| Proceedings and Reports of the Bailey Investigation Committee, Provided for in a Simple Resolution Adopted by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature. Austin Tex.: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1907. | ||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
(Identify the item), Stenographic report, Bailey Investigation Committee, House of Representatives, Texas Legislature. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession Information
Accession number: 2000/152
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by either the Texas Legislature or, possibly, the Texas Secretary of State at some time during the first half of the 20th century. For purposes of control, the records were assigned a modern accession number on May 15, 2000.
Processing Information
Nancy Enneking, May 2000
Detailed Description of the Collection