Clarence Joseph Morley (February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948) was the 24th

Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...

from 1925 to 1927, serving one two-year term. He was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Before becoming governor he was a judge in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan which was an important force in Colorado politics during the 1920s and largely responsible for the division of the Republican and Democratic votes that enabled him to take office.

Tenure as governor

Morely took office on January 16, 1925, in a ceremony at the Municipal Auditorium in Denver. Virulently

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

, Morley was one of the most extreme governors in Colorado history.Lynn Bartels
Bob Beauprez bypasses KKK member, attacks Hickenlooper as most "extreme" governor
, ''Denver Post'' (March 4, 2014). The Center for Colorado & the West at the Auraria Library wrote: Morely's administration was marked by "scandals and ineptitude."

Mail fraud conviction

After leaving office, Morley established C.J. Morley & Company, a stock brokerage firm in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. In 1935, Morley was arrested on charges from

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

; he was convicted for 21 counts of mail fraud and using political influences to defraud customers. Sentenced to five years in

Leavenworth Prison The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Unite ...

, he died three years after being released. He is buried in Denver at Fairmount Cemetery.Governor Clarence Morley
National Governors Association.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Clarence 1869 births 1948 deaths People from Dyersville, Iowa American prisoners and detainees Republican Party governors of Colorado Ku Klux Klan members American politicians convicted of fraud Politicians from Oklahoma City Critics of the Catholic Church Colorado politicians convicted of crimes