Raymond E. Willis of Indiana By Ray Hill Raymond Eugene Willis was literally born into the printing business. His father, Frank, had been a veteran of the Civil War and owned the Waterloo Press. The son of “a country editor” and one of six brothers and eight children,...

Legislative Craftsman: Robert F. Wagner of New York By Ray Hill Robert Ferdinand Wagner was born in Germany and rose to become a towering figure in the United States Senate.  Eight-year-old Bob Wagner and his parents left their village near Wiesbaden for the United...

The Merry Mortician: Kenneth S. Wherry of Nebraska By Ray Hill Kenneth Spicer Wherry is completely unknown to most readers today, but the Nebraskan was one of the better-known members of the United States Senate during his time. A superlative salesman, Wherry had...

Senatorial Bloodhound: Charles W. Tobey of New Hampshire  By Ray Hill Almost certainly, hardly any reader will recall Charles William Tobey, but at one time he was a member of the first congressional committee to become a television sensation, which was headed by...

John E. Miles of New Mexico By Ray Hill For 60 years, John E. Miles was a fixture of New Mexico’s political scene.  Miles held numerous elected and appointed positions throughout his life and lived long enough to become a senior statesman of New Mexico’s Democratic...

K.D. McKellar Goes To Congress, II   By Ray Hill The campaigns of Kenneth D. McKellar and his chief opponent for the Democratic nomination in the 1911 special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George Washington Gordon had heated up.  McKellar...

K.D. McKellar Goes To Congress, I By Ray Hill Tennessee has been fortunate to have sent some to Congress who have wielded real influence in the Nation’s Capitol.  Tennessee has also had a few men who served for decades in Washington, D.C.  Carroll Reece and Jimmy...

The Fight for Majority Leader, 1937 By Ray Hill Sometime during the night of July 14, 1937, the heart of Joseph T. Robinson stopped beating.  Arkansas had honored Joe Robinson with every distinction she could bestow upon a single individual, electing him to Congress,...

The Friend of the Workers: Olin D. Johnston of South Carolina By Ray Hill Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston was a fixture in the politics of his native South Carolina for decades.  Twice elected governor and elected to the United States Senate in 1944 where he remained...