Homer James Hughes

biography

Homer James Hughes, ex-state senator, was born in Woodcock township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, September 29, 1844. His father was killed by lightening in his own house July 26, 1848,leaving to survive him a widow, Eliza, and four children,—Edwin, Homer, Ella and an infant daughter who died in 1851. Edwin and Ella died in 1865, and his mother is also deceased, thus leaving Homer the only surviving member of the family.

After his father’s death, the mother took the family to the home of her father-in-law, James M. Humes, where they lived until the children were able to take care of themselves At the age of nine Homer went to his uncle, George Doctor, in Cambridge township, and lived with him till the spring of 1861. He acquired what may be called a good common-school education, and attended school at the Waterford Academy in the spring term of 1862. He taught a country school during the winter of 1863-64, and in April, 1865, he entered the Edinboro State Normal School, and continued there for four full terms. In the fall of 1866 he entered Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, at which he graduated in June, 1869 He taught school for three terms after his graduation, and entered the law office of W. R. Bole, the first of March, 1871, as a student of law, and was admitted to the bar November 11, 1871. In February, 1872, he went south and -west, but returned to the office of Mr. Bole, his preceptor, and continued his law study until October 14, when he opened an office for himself, and has since been an active and successful practitioner.

He began his political career by stumping Crawford county for Greeley in 1872, and since then has been among his party’s leaders in the county and state. He was chairman of the Democratic county committee in 1873 and 1874. In 1873, by his energetic work, the Republican majority was greatly reduced, and in 1874 the Democratic candidates were elected, save one. He was a member of the state committee in 1876. Although actively engaged in every political campaign till 1882, he attended strictly to the practice of his profession, and has made his way to the front. in 1882 he was unanimously nominated by his party for state senator, and although his district had given one thousand three hundred and forty-five plurality for Garfield in 1880, he was elected by four hundred and one over the Hon. A. B. Richmond.
During his service in the senate, Mr. Humes was a determined opponent of bad legislation and jobs of every kind, and more frequently voted No than any other senator. At the opening of the session of 1883 his attention was attracted by the governor’s message, which showed that there was more than five million dollars in idle cash in the state treasury, owing to the fact that there existed a set of favored banks that were making money out of state funds. After much careful study of the law, the senator prepared a bill to compel the commissioners of the sinking fund to invest all surplus funds in either state or United States bonds as required by the state constitution. After a hard and long contest, in which Senator Cooper, of Delaware, led the opposition forces, the bill became a law by receiving the signature of Governor Robert F. Pattison on the last night of the session. To enforce this law Governor Pattison was obliged to go into the courts to compel the commissioners to take the sinking-fund money from favored banks and invest it as required by the law. More than two million five hundred thousand dollars state and four million two hundred thousand dollars United States bonds have been purchased under the Humes bill, a saving to this time, for the state, of more than three million dollars in interest which would otherwise have gone to the state treasurer’s favored banks. In talking of the passage of this bill the senator never tires of giving praise to Senators Wallace, Gordon, Wolverton, Hall, Hess, Lee. Emery and Stewart for their active co-operation.

In i886 he was unanimously renominated for the senate. G. W. Delamater was his opponent. Money flowed without stint from the pockets of his competitors, yet the senator ran ahead of his party ticket and his competitors fell behind Governor Beaver’s vote. Since then the senator has devoted himself to the practice of his profession.

During his service in the senate he was one of Governor Pattison’s trusted friends, and was on the best of terms with the whole administration. The only friction between the senator and Governor Pattison was concerning the appointment of Dr. F. E. Higbee as superintendent of public instruction. This was political and not personal. The senator led the Democratic forces in the attempt to defeat confirmation, but failed. His principal reason was too close relationship between Higbee and the Soldiers’ Orphan Syndicate, and subsequent information has clearly shown the senator to be right.

He was the author of the bill to prevent the consolidation of parallel and competing pipe lines, and by his every vote sustained every move to enforce article seventeen of the constitution concerning railroads and canals. In 1885
he offered a bill to enforce this article of the constitution, drawn strickly under the twelfth section of the article, which is: “The general assembly shall enforce by appropriate legislation the provision of this article.” The bill simply provided penalties for the violation of each section of the article; but it never got out of the committee. He offered an amendment to the constitution, article five, section five, changing the population from forty thousand to sixty thousand to entitle a county to a separate judicial district.
In 1890 the senator took an active part in the renomination of Governor Pattison, and was a delegate to the Democratic state convention in Pattison’s interest. He was largely instrumental in securing Pattison’s re-election.

In 1892, 1894 and 1896 he was one of Hon. J. C. Sibley’s staunchest supporters. He wrote several letters over his own signature, and many not signed, declaring that he was for Sibley and free silver coinage, because only by so doing could he be a Democrat as prescribed by the Chicago platform of 1892. and if he must follow Grover Cleveland’s interpretation of that platform to be a Democrat, he was one no longer. He supported William J. Bryan in 1896 with unparalleled enthusiasm. When Bryan was in Erie, in August of that year, he opened the meeting at the Opera House with a speech that was excelled by none, and only equalled by that of Mr. Bryan himself.

Senator Humes declares he is now in politics only for the principle. He believes sincerely in the new Democracy as set forth in the Chicago platform of 1896, and he has but one question to ask legislative and executive candidates, and if they stand on that platform he will support them, for they represent his cause. The senator is a forcible speaker, and never uses notes.

He was a delegate to the Altoona convention in 1898, and was a warm supporter of George A. Jenks, who was there nominated for governor.

He was married to Delia F. Lowry, a daughter of Judge Thomas J. Lowry, of Conneautville, February 11, 1874. They have one child, a son, E. Lowry Humes, who is now a student at Allegheny College, and is studying law in his father’s office.

Our county and its people: a historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania by Samuel P. Bates, 1899, pages 691-693.