Francis Oscar Callaway (October 2, 1872 – January 31, 1947) was a three-term

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 ...

' twelfth district from 1911 to 1917.

Biography

Born on October 2, 1872, in Harmony Hill (Nip-and-Tuck),

Rusk County, Texas Rusk County is a county located in Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 52,214. Its county seat is Henderson. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, a secretary of war of the Republic of Texas. Rusk County is part of th ...

, Callaway moved with his parents to Comanche County in 1876. He attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from 1897 to 1899 and graduated from its law department in 1900. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and served as prosecuting attorney of Comanche County from 1900 to 1902. On December 29, 1904, he married Stella Couch. He served as delegate to Democratic State conventions in 1896, 1898, 1900-1916, and 1920-1926. Callaway was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Congresses, serving March 4, 1911 - March 3, 1917. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1916. He returned to his ranch near

Comanche, Texas Comanche is a city located in Comanche County in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 4,335 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Comanche County. History A military road known as the "Corn Trail" came through in 1850 to supply are ...

, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock raising, and also in the practice of law in Comanche. He died in

, January 31, 1947, and was interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Comanche.Oscar Callaway
at the

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

U.S. Representative, 1911-1917

Callaway served on the Committee on Expenditures in the Treasury Department 1912-1913, the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior 1914-1915, and then the Naval Affairs Committee for the remainder of his incumbency. Callaway's tenure was marked by outspoken fiscal conservatism and sharp questioning of every federal expenditure. This included vigorous opposition to huge river and harbor appropriations bills such as making the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

and Brazos rivers navigable. Callaway came to national attention in 1916 with his opposition to the naval appropriation bill. He believed that a civilian army could repel any invasion, that battleships had been made obsolete by

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s, and that the military expenditures called for by the

Preparedness Movement The Preparedness Movement was a campaign led by former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Leonard Wood, and former President Theodore Roosevelt to strengthen the U.S. military after the outbreak of World War I. Wood advocated a summer training sc ...

unduly favored munition makers. Some of his strong words against other congressmen on the subject were expunged from the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

.Miller TL
CALLAWAY, FRANCIS OSCAR
The Handbook of Texas Online. In 1917 he charged that leading business interests were purchasing newspapers to advance the preparedness campaign, which led his colleague J. Hampton Moore to call for an investigation.Special to the New York Times. (February 14, 1917)

''New York Times''. His opposition to preparedness was a major factor in his loss of the renomination bid to

James Clifton Wilson James Clifton Wilson (June 21, 1874 – August 3, 1951) was a United States representative from Texas and was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Education and career Wilson wa ...

, and he retired to Comanche on March 3, 1917.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaway, Oscar 1872 births 1947 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas People from Rusk County, Texas People from Comanche, Texas