![Homer Stille Cummings, 1914](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Homer_Stille_Cummings%2C_1914.jpg)
Homer Stille Cummings (April 30, 1870 – September 10, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician who was the
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
from 1933 to 1939. He also was elected
mayor of Stamford, Connecticut
The mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, United States, is the city's chief executive.
History of the mayoralty
Before 1945, the city charter of the City of Stamford divided the city into two separate political jurisdictions: a central city with a " ...
, three times before founding the legal firm of Cummings & Lockwood in 1909. He later served as chairman of
Democratic National Committee between 1919 and 1920.
Early life and career
Cummings was born on April 30, 1870 and graduated from the Heathcote School in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. He earned a
Ph.B. degree from the Sheffield School of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in 1891, and completed his degree at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
two years later. Practicing law in Stamford, he joined with
Charles D. Lockwood in 1909 to form Cummings & Lockwood, remaining a partner in the firm until 1933.
Three years after entering private practice, Cummings supported
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...
's 1896 presidential bid.
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
(Silver) Democrats nominated him for Secretary of State. As a Progressive whose oratorical skills made him a dramatic
trial lawyer, Cummings seemed a natural for the political arena.
In 1900, 1901, and 1904, Cummings was elected mayor of
Stamford. His two tenures as mayor were served from 1900–1902 and again from 1904–1906. At the time of his first election, he began a quarter-century of service as a committeeman from Connecticut with the national
Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. As mayor, he helped construct and improve streets and sewers, reorganized the police and fire departments, and secured a shorefront park that later was named for him.
Nominated for Congressman-at-large in 1902 and for U.S. Senator in 1910 and 1916, Cummings lost all three races by narrow margins. During the 1912 campaign, he directed the Democratic speaker's bureau from
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, ...
., then served as vice-chairman of the national committee from 1913 to 1919. He served as chairman for the next two years.
During the period from 1914 to 1924, Cummings served as the state attorney for Connecticut in
Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States:
* Fairfield County, Connecticut
* Fairfield County, Ohio
Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...
. During his last year as county prosecutor, a vagrant and discharged army soldier,
Harold Israel Harold Israel (1903–1964) was an itinerant former serviceman wrongly accused of murdering a priest in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1924. The charges against Israel were dismissed by the prosecutor, Homer Stille Cummings, who later became Attorney G ...
, was indicted for the murder in
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
of Father Hubert Dahme, a popular parish priest.
Despite police evidence that included a confession and a .32 revolver, which the suspect had and which produced a fired cartridge consistent with the bullet in the deceased, Cummings conducted a thorough investigation of the crime. He eventually found Israel innocent and dropped the indictment. In 1931, the
National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement
The National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (also known unofficially as the Wickersham Commission) was a committee established by the U.S. President, Herbert Hoover, on May 20, 1929. Former attorney general George W. Wickersham (185 ...
(the Wickersham Commission) praised this act. A 1947 film ''
Boomerang!'' was based on the case, directed by
Elia Kazan, with
Dana Andrews
Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
as Cummings.
During the bitterly divided
1924 Democratic National Convention
The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominat ...
, Cummings tried to calm the delegates by formulating a compromise plank on the controversial issue of the
Ku Klux Klan, which had been revived in the previous decade. Unlike most Northeastern Democrats, he supported
William G. McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name:
* Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior"
* William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "Ju ...
over
Alfred E. Smith for the presidential nomination.
Marriage and family
Cummings was married four times, the first two ending in divorce. In 1897, he wed Helen W. Smith, a union that lasted 10 years. The couple had one son, Dickinson Schuyler Cummings, before their divorce. His 1909 marriage to Marguerite T. Owings ended in divorce in 1928.
The following year, he married Mary Cecilia Waterbury, and it lasted until her death in 1939. He had a memoir, ''The Tired Sea'' (1939), published as a tribute to her. In 1942, he married Julia Alter, who died in 1955.
Later political career
After nearly a decade out of the spotlight, Cummings reentered politics. In 1932, he helped persuade 24 senators and numerous congressmen to announce their support for
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. At the
Chicago convention
The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air trave ...
, he planned strategy, operated as floor manager, and delivered a resounding seconding speech.
Following the election, Roosevelt chose Cummings as governor-general of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. Two days before the inauguration,
Thomas J. Walsh, who had been designated attorney general, died. Upon taking office on March 4, 1933, Roosevelt named Cummings to lead the Justice Department. Cummings served almost six years as attorney general. Only
William Wirt (1817–1829),
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...
(1993–2001), and
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African Amer ...
(2009–2015) have had longer tenures in the position.
Cummings transformed the Department of Justice by establishing uniform rules of practice and procedure in federal courts. He secured the passage of twelve laws that buttressed the "
Lindbergh Law
Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping (the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's toddler son), the United States Congress passed a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act, (a)(1) (popularly known as the Lindbe ...
" on kidnapping, made bank robbery a federal crime, cracked down on interstate transportation of stolen property, and extended federal regulations over firearms. He strengthened the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
, called a national crime conference, supported the establishment of
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
as a model prison for hardened offenders, and reorganized the internal administration of the department. In 1937, Cummings published "We Can Prevent Crime", and, with
Carl McFarlan Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", List of Aqua Teen ...
, an assistant attorney general, ''Federal Justice'', a departmental history. ''The Selected Papers of Homer Cummings'' (1939), edited by
Carl B. Swisher, supplemented the history.
Cummings served as the chief protector of
New Deal programs. During his first week as attorney general, he advised Roosevelt that the
Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917
The Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) of 1917 (, codified at and et seq.) is a United States federal law, enacted on October 6, 1917, that gives the President of the United States the power to oversee or restrict any and all trade between the ...
permitted the president to close banks and regulate gold hoarding and export. Cummings personally argued the right of the government to ban gold payments before the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
and won the "
gold clause" cases. But, during 1935–1936, the Court overthrew eight key New Deal statutes, including the
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...
(NIRA) and the
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on par ...
(AAA).
Frustration over the conservative nature of the Court, coupled with outrage over the proliferation of lawsuits and injunctions against the government, made Cummings eager to expand the judiciary. After the
1936 Presidential election, Roosevelt instructed him to draft legislation for court reform. Neither man wanted to attempt to amend the Constitution.
Conservative Justice
James McReynolds had proposed to add a judge for every judge who refused to retire at age seventy at full pay. Such a measure might give the president the opportunity to appoint fifty new judges, including six to the Supreme Court. Roosevelt launched the proposal, prepared secretly by Cummings, on February 5, 1937. The ensuing uproar over the
"court-packing plan" helped kill the bill after 168 days; the Senate returned it to committee. (Of the so-called "four horsemen" of the US Supreme Court who consistently opposed the New Deal: Van Devanter resigned May 18, 1937; Sutherland resigned January 17, 1938; Butler died November 16, 1939; and McReynolds resigned January 31, 1941.)
Cummings retired on January 2, 1939, entering private law practice in Washington. He helped develop a spring golf tournament that annually brought executives, lawyers, and politicians together. He also retained his interest in the Connecticut Democratic party, along with a residence in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...
. He served on the Greenwich Town Committee until 1951.
Cummings's papers are held at the
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is a research library that specializes in American history and literature, history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history of the Universit ...
at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
.
Representation in other media
In 1961,
character actor Robert F. Simon
Robert Frank Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor.
Earlier years
Simon began acting with Mansfield's Community Players organization when he worked as a clerk in a meat market. Following that experience ...
appeared as Cummings in an episode of
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
, ''
The Untouchables
Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to:
American history
* Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness
* ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
* ''The U ...
.''
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Homer Stille
1870 births
1956 deaths
20th-century American politicians
American Congregationalists
Connecticut Democrats
Connecticut lawyers
Democratic National Committee chairs
Franklin D. Roosevelt administration cabinet members
Lawyers from Chicago
Mayors of Stamford, Connecticut
People from Greenwich, Connecticut
United States Attorneys General
Candidates in the 1916 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election
Yale Law School alumni