Roy Owen West

Background

Roy Owen West was born in Georgetown, Ill. , the son of Pleasant West and Helen Anna W. His father combined insurance with the lumber business.

Education

West received his early education in Georgetown, then attended DePauw University, where he received the B. A. and LL. B. degrees in 1890. He was awarded the M. A. degree at DePauw three years later.

Career

Upon completing his education, West moved to Chicago to practice law. There he met Charles S. Deneen, a lawyer and future leader of the Deneen (later Deneen-West) faction of the Illinois Republican party. A close association developed between them, with "never a written understanding and never a misunderstanding. " West quickly won prominence in Chicago politics. In 1894 he became assistant county attorney, and from 1895 to 1897 he was city attorney for Chicago. Also in 1898 he commenced five consecutive terms, lasting to 1914, as a member of the Cook County Board of Review. By 1900, West, Deneen, and William Lorimer, a member of the U. S. House of Representatives, dominated the Cook County Central Committee, although the parting of the ways between the first two and Lorimer was not far off. West in 1902 formed a law partnership with Percy B. Eckhart, son of a wealthy and influential Chicago miller whose backing he enjoyed. His law office was part of the suite occupied by Frank O. Lowden, who was ambitious for political power. In the gubernatorial campaign of 1904, West acted as Deneen's campaign manager. Deneen won the nomination over Lowden and the election. (He was governor of Illinois from 1905 to 1913. ) West then became chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, serving until 1914. During these years Lorimer, now a United States senator, embarrassed Illinois Republicans when he was accused of election fraud. Deneen and West were credited with helping oust Lorimer from the Senate in 1912. West's influence in the Republican national organization grew steadily. In 1908, 1912, 1916, and 1928 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He succeeded Lowden as the Illinois member of the Republican National Committee in 1912, holding this position until 1916 and again from 1928 to 1932. After Lowden became governor of Illinois in 1917, he cultivated West by consulting him about patronage. When Lowden aspired to the Republican presidential nomination in 1920, West traveled through New England at his own expense, seeking support for him. Early that year he took charge of Lowden's New York headquarters. But in 1928, when Lowden again sought the nomination, West was an enthusiastic supporter of Herbert Hoover. In 1924, West successfully directed the primary campaign that eventuated in the election of Deneen to the United States Senate. That same year he had become secretary of the Republican National Committee, administering a budget system instituted by President Calvin Coolidge, with whom he worked closely. On July 20, 1928, Coolidge appointed West secretary of the interior to succeed Hubert Work, who had resigned in order to become chairman of the Republican National Committee. The surprise appointment was construed as recognition of West's ability, friendship with the president, and substantial service to the party, but also as a move to strengthen the party in Chicago, where the Democratic presidential candidate, Alfred E. Smith, held a strong lead. West's tenure as secretary of the interior lasted until March 1929. It was marked by his quick grasp of the varied responsibilities of his office. His annual report, released in early December, set forth a policy of conservation of natural resources, and won praise as "a remarkable inventory of the nation's wealth" contained in the public domain. His appointment was made while the Senate was in recess; and upon convening in December, it determined, through the Public Lands Committee, to hold hearings about West's fitness to hold the cabinet post. At a time when the issue of public power companies was at the fore, West's connection with the Chicago utilities magnate Samuel Insull came into question. An attorney for Insull and a heavy investor in his companies, West had previously acknowledged his family holdings in the Insull empire. At the committee hearing, where Senator Thomas James Walsh, who had investigated the naval oil leases made by a former secretary of the interior (the Teapot Dome scandal), questioned him sharply. West testified that he had sold his Insull stock and had opposed Insull in political conflicts in Illinois. By a vote of nine to four, the committee recommended confirmation. On the Senate floor Senator George Norris, pointing out that the secretary of the interior was ex officio a member of the Federal Power Commission, which ruled on applications for power-plant sites, vigorously objected to confirmation. Senate confirmation on January 21, by a vote of fifty-three to twenty-seven, led to another controversy. Though the vote had been taken in secret session, a press association released details of the vote. The release angered some members, and prompted Norris and others to attack the practice of considering nominations behind closed doors. On June 18, 1929, the Senate, by a vote of sixty-nine to five, altered its rules, declaring that in the future all business would be in open session unless a majority of the Senate determined that a nomination or treaty required secrecy. West's term expired with the end of the Coolidge administration. President Hoover offered him the ambassadorship to Japan, which he declined. On Deneen's death in 1940, West became chief of the faction known as the National Republican Party. During World War II he returned to public service, acting as special assistant to the attorney general of the United States. He heard the cases of conscientious objectors until 1952. From 1914 to 1950 he was a trustee of DePauw University, serving as board president from 1924 to 1950. He died in Chicago.

Achievements

• He served as U. S. Secretary of the Interior from 1928 until 1929 with the President Calvin Coolidge's cabinet. The Roy O. West Library at DePauw University was named for him. He was instrumental in securing more than $10 million in gifts for his alma mater.

Politics

He favored minimal government interference in the economy, and was an enemy of corruption.

Personality

Nearly six feet tall, slender in build, both reserved and disarming in manner, and loyal to his friends, West had a quiet devotion to his party and church.

Connections

On June 11, 1898, he married Louisa Augustus; they had one son. His wife died in 1901, and on June 8, 1904, West married Louise McWilliams; they had one daughter.

Father:

Pleasant West

Mother:

Helen Anna West

Spouse:

Louise McWilliams

Spouse:

Louisa Augustus