Emmet Montgomery Reily (October 21, 1866 – October 31, 1954), sometimes E. Mont Reily, was a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and, later,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served a number of local offices, especially in Fort Worth and Kansas City. He was active in the Republican Party. He was later appointed as the governor of Puerto Rico by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

Missouri/Texas career

Reily was born in

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

, but moved to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

as a teenager where he worked both in the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

and

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

businesses. During this time, he first became active in local politics and was appointed as the chairman of the Republican City Committee (which he served on for eight years) and the Republican County Committee, as well as being twice nominated for County Clerk. (However, he never won that office.) In 1892, Reily went to Kansas City and was appointed as the Secretary to the Mayor for two terms. Following that, he returned to private life, but was subsequently appointed as Chief Deputy to the

County Assessor Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor. Governments need to ...

. In 1902, he was appointed as the Assistant Postmaster for Kansas City. In 1901, Reily founded the Roosevelt Club, which had a stated goal of nominating

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

in the 1904 elections. The group was disbanded when Roosevelt became president after the assassination of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

in September of that year. As a newspaper editor in Kansas City, Reily was said to be the first prominent figure to endorse

for the office of President of the United States. When Harding was elected president in 1920, he is said to have sought an appointive office to which he could nominate Reily as a reward for his loyalty, without giving him too much power or presence in Washington.

Puerto Rico

On July 30, 1921, President Harding nominated Reily as Governor of Puerto Rico. During his time in office, he was a strong supporter of "Americanism", the introduction of some aspects of mainland United States culture and their advancement over native Puerto Rican culture. During his inauguration address, he insisted that the United States flag ("Old Glory") should be the only flag used over the island. Additionally, he placed several mainland politicians in prominent positions in the Puerto Rican government. Although Reily was a strong proponent of "Americanism", he reportedly saw Spanish culture—such as that of Texas, Florida, and California—to be part of this culture. During his term as governor, Spanish Renaissance Revival became the "official" architectural style of the territory for public buildings and the new Puerto Rico Capitol Building was erected in that style. During his time in office, Reily advocated reducing the use of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

in schools in favor of teaching exclusively in

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. Reily was an extremely unpopular governor. A common nickname for him, given by the Puerto Rican populace, was ''"Moncho Reyes"'', a name closely resembling Reily's and giving the impression ("Moncho" being a common countryside nickname for the name "Ramón") that Reily was an uncivilized hick. He became involved in disputes with numerous political factions in Puerto Rico, some of which called for his removal from office. Reily reported, in a letter to Harding, that he had received death threats. He was also the subject of corruption allegations and an investigation by Puerto Rican local officials. Under pressure to leave office, and suffering from an illness he had contracted during a return visit to the continental United States, Reily resigned as governor in March 1923. He was succeeded by U.S.

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Horace Mann Towner Horace Mann Towner (October 23, 1855 – November 23, 1937) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 8th congressional district and appointed the governor of Puerto Rico. In an ...

, the Chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs, which had jurisdiction over Puerto Rico. A collection of original correspondence between Reily and President Harding is archived in the Manuscripts Division of the New York Public Library.

References

''The Architecture of Power'' by Enrique Vivoni-Farage, a history of architecture in Puerto Rico
* ttp://worldstatesmen.org/Puerto_Rico.html Puerto Rico on WorldStatesmen.orgbr>Political Graveyard: Reily to Remsen
*NEW GOVERNOR TAKES OFFICE IN PORTO RICO; E. Mont Reily Brings Cheers When He Says Old Glory Is Only Flag for Island. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jul 31, 1921. pg. 8, 1 pgs *PORTO RICANS DEMAND REMOVAL OF GOV. REILY; Representatives of New York Colony Call Harding's Appointee Unfair to Independence Party. *ENGLISH IN PORTO RICO.; Governor Asked That It Be Taught Equally With Spanish. J.R. HULL, A.W. BAAR, F. SMITH., JAMES V. CHALMERS., ''et al.'' New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Sep 27, 1921. pg. 15, 1 pgs {{DEFAULTSORT:Reily, Emmet Montgomery 1866 births 1954 deaths People from Sedalia, Missouri Texas Republicans Missouri Republicans Missouri local politicians Texas local politicians Governors of Puerto Rico People from Fort Worth, Texas Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians