Guy F. Cordon (April 24, 1890June 8, 1969) was an American author, politician and lawyer from the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. A native of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, he served in the Army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and later was the district attorney of Douglas County in

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oreg ...

. 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 ...

, he was appointed and later won election to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, serving in office from 1944 to 1955.

Early life

Guy Cordon was born in Cuero,

DeWitt County, Texas DeWitt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,824. The county seat is Cuero. The county was founded in 1846 and is named for Green DeWitt, who founded an early colony in Texas. Hist ...

, on April 24, 1890.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 63. He moved with his family to

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is in the Umpqua River, Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon and is the county seat and most populous city of Douglas County, Oregon, Douglas County. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 a ...

, in 1896, and attended the public schools in that city. In 1909, at the age of 19, he became the deputy tax assessor of

Douglas County, Oregon Douglas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 111,201. The county seat is Roseburg. The county is named after Stephen A. Douglas, an American politician who supported Orego ...

, serving until 1916. In 1914, Cordon married Ana Allen, and they had two children. During

he enlisted in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and served in the artillery.

Political career

In 1917 he began serving as the county tax assessor, remaining until 1919. Cordon studied law and then passed the bar in 1920. From 1923 to 1935 he served as the district attorney of Douglas County and then practiced law in Roseburg. Cordon then began working as the lawyer for a group of 18 counties suing the federal government as an outgrowth of the

Oregon land fraud scandal The Oregon land fraud scandal of the early 20th century involved U.S. government land grants in the U.S. state of Oregon being illegally obtained with the assistance of public officials. Most of Oregon's U.S. congressional delegation received ...

involving land grants for the

Oregon and California Railroad The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad so ...

. In 1944, Cordon was appointed to a seat in the

from Oregon by Governor

Earl Snell Earl Wilcox Snell (July 11, 1895 – October 28, 1947) was an American politician, businessman, and member of the Republican Party, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of O ...

following the death of Senator

Charles L. McNary Charles Linza McNary (June 12, 1874February 25, 1944) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Oregon. He served in the United States Senate, U.S. Senate from 1917 to 1944 and was Party leaders of the United ...

. In a special election in November 1944, Cordon was elected to finish the term, receiving 57% of the vote against Democrat Willis Mahoney. Longtime Senator

Wayne Morse Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing his party's leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds. ...

was elected to his first term in the Senate in that election. Cordon was elected to a full six-year term in 1948, receiving 60% of the vote against Democrat Manley J. Wilson. In 1954, a bad year for Republicans, Cordon was defeated for re-election by Democrat Richard L. Neuberger by a margin of 50.2% to 49.8%. While in the Senate, Cordon suggested a Senate rule (adopted as Rule XXVI part 12, known as the Cordon Rule) that Senate committee reports should indicate how provisions in a bill would change current law. Cordon served as chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs from 1954 until his term expired in 1955. He visited

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

to conduct hearings on possible statehood for the then-territory (Hawaii was admitted in 1959). He was in the Senate from March 4, 1944, to January 3, 1955.

Later years

After leaving the Senate, he practiced law in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1955 to 1962, when he retired. During the early 1950s,

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

, who would later become a famous science fiction author, was one of Cordon's speechwriters. Guy F. Cordon died in Washington, D.C. on June 8, 1969, at the age of 79 and was buried in Roseburg at the Roseburg Memorial Gardens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordon, Guy 1890 births 1969 deaths Oregon Republicans District attorneys in Oregon Politicians from Roseburg, Oregon People from Cuero, Texas People from Roseburg, Oregon Republican Party United States senators from Oregon 20th-century American politicians

Early life

Political career

Later years

See also

References