PARK TRAMMELL OF FLORIDA: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY By STEPHEN KERBER A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THF DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1979 Copyright 1979 by Stephen Kerber For My Parents Harry w. and Marie C. Kerber ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Anyone Vi/ho completes the ordeal of researching and v/riting a dis- sertation accumulates a great number of scholarly and social debts, only a few of which can publicly be acknowledged here. My thanks go first to my parents, for constant encouragement and support. Gregory Kerber and Dr. Donald Vi. Curl originally urged me to pursue a Ph.D. degree in history. In addition to directing the dissertation. Dr. Samuel Proctor employed me as editorial assistant on the Florida Historical Quarterly and as coordinator of the University of Florida Oral History Project and was a staunch friend. The members of my committee--Professors Lyle McAlister, C. John Sommerville, Hunt Davis, Harry Paul, and William Childers--have always been extremely cooperative. Norman Wilensky, John Mahon, and David Chalmers supplied inspiration through their brilliant and entertaining teaching. Debbie Mann patiently accompanied me on many dull visits to the library. Christine Nasie became my best friend and kept me from going insane. Elizabeth Alexander and Ellen Hodges of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History graciously answered all my questions. Professors Wayne Flynt, Durward Long, and Alexander Stoesen provided insightful advice. Special friends who helped over the years include Kay Erickson, Diane Will, Tom King, Karen and Jeremiah Kerber, Barbara Yates, Mary VJoodley, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and the person who invented volleyball. My gratitude is due to all. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv ABSTRACT vij CHAPTER ONE BIRTHRIGHT OF A SOUTH FLORIDA DEr^OCRAT, 1876-1902. ... i Notes 28 TWO POLK COUNTY LEGISLATOR: EVOLUTION OF A BROWARD PROGRESSIVE, 1903-1907 33 Notes 54 THREE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA, 1909-1913 70 Notes 95 FOUR THE GUBERNATORIAL CONTEST OF 1912: CONVICTS, GOOD ROADS, AND SUGAR lOQ Notes ]23 FIVE GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, 1913-1917: PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRACY IN THE SADDLE 127 Notes, 166 SIX SENATORIAL CONTEST OF 1916: CATTS, BRYAN, AND NATIVISM 173 Notes 199 SEVEN WAR, PEACE, AND THE BONUS, 1917-1923 203 Notes 228 EIGHT THE HONORABLE BILLIE VS. THE HONORABLE PARK: SENATORIAL CONTEST OF 1922 233 Notes 249 Page NINE THE POLITICS OF INERTIA, 1923-1929 253 Notes. 272 Notes 297 ELEVEN PORTRAIT OF A NEW DEAL LOYALIST, 1929-1935 301 Notes. ......... 321 TWELVE THE SENATOR FROM YBOR CITY: SENATORIAL CONTEST OF 1934 325 Notes 356 TiMIRTEEN SENIORITY AND DENOUEMENT, 1935-1936 363 Notes 373 FOURTEEN CONCLUSION: AN EASY PACE WILL LAST LONGER 376 Notes 386 BIBLIOGRAPHY 387 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH , . 399 VI . Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy PARK TRAMMELL OF FLORIDA: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY By Stephen Kerber June 1979 Chairman: Dr. Samuel Proctor Major Department: History Park Trammell (1876-1936), one of Florida's most astute politicians, was born in Alabama, April 9, 1876. His father, John W. Trammell, moved to Polk County, Florida, in 1882, where he farmed and grew citrus. He was interested in politics and was elected county treasurer and state representative. His support of Henry Mitchell's gubernatorial candidacy in 1892 resulted in aDDointnient a*: suDerin'f"oniHo"+ ^-f fho Hn'^init^i -fnv- the insane at Chattahoochee. He occupied this post for eight years. In the spring of 1894, Park v..'ent to work in the customs service at Tampa. In 1898, he decided to obtain a law degree, and first attended Vanderbilt University, and then Cumberland Law School, graduating in the spring of 1899, Trammell returned to Lakeland, where he opened a law of f i c" In 1899, and again in 1900 and 1901, Trammell was elected mayor. In 1902, he won election to the state house of representatives. Two years later, he was chosen for the state senate, after campaigning against railroads and corporations. His colleagues selected him senate president. He became a leading advocate of Governor Napoleon Broward's progressive reform program. vn Trauimen declared himself a candidate for the United States Senate during the autumn of 1907, but withdrew his candidacy when Broward en- couraged another of his supporters. Will Bryan of Jacksonville, to make the race. Trammel! then decided to run for state attorney general and in 1908 defeated the incumbent, William Ellis. In 1912, Trammell used his cabinet post as a stepping-stone to the governorship. He defeated William Milton in a campaign v/hich dealt with the issues of good roads and the labor of state convicts. Trammell advocated many progressive reforms as governor, but did not play a significant role in the sub- sequent enactment of laws by the 1913 and 1915 legislatures. Trammell manipulated nativist sentiment stirred up by gubernatorial candidate Sidney Catts in 1916 in his own behalf in his race against United States Senator Nathan Bryan. During his initial Senate term (1917-1923), Trammell established himself as a reactor rather than an activist or orator. He faithfully attended Senate sessions and committee meetings and voted the v/ay his constituents would prefer him to vote. In 1922, William Jennings Bryan seriously contemplated a race for Trammell 's Senate seat but abandoned the idea in the face of Trammell 's great popularity. In 1928, Trammell resisted a challenge from outgoing Governor John Martin, in a heated campaign marred by personal abuse and charges of corruption among Trammell's office staff. Trammell's most remarkable victory came in the 1934 runoff Democratic primary against attorney Claude Pepper of Tallahassee. Both men based their campaigns on support for Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, but Tram,mell's popularity and his connections in Hillsborough County turned the election in his favor. vm Trammen eventually achieved seniority in the Senate, but was personally responsible for little if any significant legislation. He did maintain an admirable voting record, however, and in doing so attempted to protect the interests of his Florida constituents. Although he became an early and consistent supporter of the New Deal, his sena- torial career was overshadowed by that of his senior colleague, Duncan Fletcher. Trammel 1 repeatedly proved himself one of the cleverest campaigners of his era. ix iiirwi7Mn ni[' nBii' ia r~iiriiii CHAPTER ONE BIRTHRIGHT OF A SOUTH FLORIDA DEMOCRAT, 1876-1902 Early in the year 1882, two brothers— John and Rip Trammel 1—moved with their families and possessions from Alabama to the frontier state of Florida. They settled in Polk County, a sparsely inhabited area just east of Tampa and Hillsborough County. Until 1850, Hillsborough in- cluded this fertile and lake-studded region. In that year, the Florida legislature divided the county and named the eastern portion for former President James Polk. The census in 1880 listed 3,181 persons in Polk County. Of that number, 3,033 were white, 122 were "colored," and 26 were Indians. Only Polk Countians 3 had been born outside the United States— 2 in England or Wales, and 1 in Ireland. Polk County's homogeneous and sexually balanced population was typical of Florida and the South. The over- whelming majority were native-born Floridians-2,222 in all. Those from other states included 687 from Georgia, 129 from South Carolina, 53 from Alabama, from 31 North Carolina, 7 from Virginia and Tennessee, 2 from Pennsylvania, and 1 each from New York and Massachusetts. The population ^ included 1,518 females and 1,663 males. When the Trammel is arrived in Florida, they found life was peaceful and bountiful. Sweet potatoes provided both a staple food and a sub- stitute for coffee. Cane supplied sugar or syrup. Clothing was made from home-grown cotton. Fenced-in cattle helped fertilize the land. ^^—,.»..^ > ^^^^ -MTTir' •r"i'"^li-r-"iiii«-i[nii-nwM-nn -2- The near-virgin wilderness swarmed with quail, wild turkey, venison, water fowl, squirrel, and fish. Cotton or oranges could be sold or traded at Tampa for goods that could not be grown or produced at home. Cane grindings, sugar boilings, camp meetings, quilting bees, and political rallies furnished entertainment and relaxation for the frontier families. During the 1850s, most of the settlers in the northern part of Polk County, and the area that later became Lakeland, did not own their land. Only in the 1870s did these "squatters" begin to homestead or buy lands they had occupied for years. Medulla ivas the principal hamlet of the area, possessing the only post office for miles around.^ John Washington and Ripley Erasmus Trammel 1 followed an established family custom when they migrated to Florida. For generations their ancestors had been heading into new territories and leaving familiar surroundings behind. Their great-grandfather had, for example, fore- saken South Carolina for Georgia at the close of the Revolutionary War. Thomas Trammel had 1 fought in the American Revolution as a private, between 1780 and 1783, in the "South Carolina Mounted Rifled Rangers." He evidently served under two well known officers--Captain Joseph Hughes and Colonel Thomas Brandon. Thomas Trammel 1 likely saw action at Musgrove's Mill, King's Mountain, Hammond's Store, Cowpens, Hanging Rock, and Rocky Mount. Long after his death, his widow began receiving a small pension in recognition of his services. Thomas Trammel 1 had married Mary Turner of Union District, South Carolina, on December 21, 1775. After the war she moved with him to Hancock County, Georgia. Thomas subsequently moved again, to Jackson (later Clark), and to Upson counties.