Eldon Jacob Crull (1859 – May 5, 1917) was an American politician. Crull was the chief Republican primary rival to

Jeannette Rankin Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States in 1917. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representat ...

, who became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Crull died by suicide shortly after the election.

Education and life

Crull came from an affluent Midwestern family and was sent to Virginia's

Staunton Military Academy Staunton Military Academy was a private all-male military school located in Staunton, Virginia. Founded in 1884, the academy closed in 1976. The school was highly regarded for its academic and military programs, and many notable American political ...

for high school. He briefly attended Ohio's

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. Thereafter, he attended

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

. For health reasons, he first went to the Arizona Territory, then Colorado, and finally Montana. He first served as a colonel on Montana Governor

Edwin L. Norris Edwin Lee Norris (August 15, 1865 – April 25, 1924) was a Democratic politician from Montana. He served as the fifth Governor of Montana. Biography Norris was born in Cumberland County, Kentucky in 1865, and graduated from the Southern Norm ...

's staff. Although Crull was a Republican, Norris was a Democrat. In 1912, Crull was the alternate delegate from Montana to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

held in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Subsequently, he served one term in the Montana legislature as a representative. His political base was Musselshell County with its seat being

Roundup, Montana Roundup is a city in and the county seat of Musselshell County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,742 during the 2020 census. History Roundup served as a place for cattlemen to "round up" their cattle along the Musselshell River. It ...

. Crull left the legislature to return to the governor's staff. This time serving under

Sam V. Stewart Samuel Vernon Stewart (August 2, 1872 – September 15, 1939) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician, an attorney, former Montana Supreme Court Justice and the sixth Governor of Montana. Biography Stewart was born in Monroe C ...

who was a Democrat. In 1915, Crull was one of two representatives who appeared before the Montana Public Service Commission on behalf of the citizens of Roundup and Klein, Montana, and the committee appointed by Local Union No. 915 of the

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing worke ...

successfully alleging that the electricity rates charged by the Roundup Coal Mining Company were unreasonable and discriminatory. A fixed rate regimen resulted. In August 1916, he was Jeannette Rankin's major rival in the Republican primary and was defeated by her. On May 5, 1917, he committed suicide on the steps of an "undertaking establishment" by swallowing "

muriatic acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid. It is a component of the gastric acid in the digestiv ...

" because, as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported, he was "despondent over increasing illness and sorrowing over his defeat "at the primaries last August by Miss Jeannette Rankin, Montana Congresswoman".Much of the information on ''Crull'' is archival (especially contained in newspapers of that era). Besides ''The New York Times'' reporting Crull's death, it was also reported nationwide, especially in small town newspapers which used it as "filler" for the ''news of the day'' or when there was no editorial comment column, e.g., ''Editorial Comment: E. Jacob Crull, Roundup, Mont., who was defeated for the Republican nomination for Congress'' Hopkinsville Kentuckian (Hopkinsville, Kentucky), Tuesday, May 8, 1917 Vol. 39-No. 55. Page 1

Education and life

References

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