Quinn. Rice. Rogers of Harris. Rogers of Shelby. Rosser. Rountree. Rowland. Satterwhite. Schweppe. Seagler. Shearer. Sims. Smith. Sneed. Stephens. Stevenson. Stewart of Edwards. Stewart of Reeves. Swann. Sweet of Brown. Thomas Thomas of Denton. able thing, or promised any public office or employment, as a reward for the giving or withholding a vote at the election at which I was elected. So help me God." of Limestone. Thomason. Thompson of Harris. Thompson of Red River. Thorn. Thrasher. Veatch. Wadley. Walker. Wallace. Webb. Wessels. West. of McLennan. Williams of Montgomery. Wright. Sweet of Tarrant. Teer. Johnson of Blanco. Menking. The Honorable Secretary announced a quorum present. OATH OF OFFICE ADMINISTERED. Noel K. Brown, temporary Chief Clerk of the House, under the order and direction of the Honorable Secretary of State, then administered the oath of office to the Representatives-elect, all of them present rising together and repeating the following oath prescribed by the Constitution, as he read it to them: "I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as a member of the House of Representatives of the Thirty-seventh Legislature according to the best of my skill and ability, agreeable to the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm that since the adoption of the Constitution of this State, I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons, within this State or out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, or aided, advised or assisted any person thus offending. And I furthermore solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have not, directly or indirectly, paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed nor promised to contribute, any money or valu ROLL OF MEMBERS SHOWING DISTRICTS REPRESENTED. The Honorable Secretary of State then filed with the Clerk the following list of the members-elect of the House of Representatives of the Thirty-seventh Legislature, whose certificates of election have been received by him and are on file in his office: Dist. No. 1-Sid Crumpton, Texarkana, Bowie county. Dist. No. 2-Wright Patman, Linden, Cass county. Dist. No. 3-P. G. Henderson, Jefferson, Marion county. Dist. No. 4-V. D. Fugler, Marshall, Harrison county. Dist. No. 5.-W. S. Crawford, Beckville, Panola county. Dist. No. 6-L. Webb, Henderson, Rusk county. Dist. No. 7-W. E. Thomason, Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches county. Dist. No. 8-John C. Rogers, Center, Shelby county. Dist. No. 9-B. P. Walker, Kirbyville, Jasper county. Dist. No. 10-J. W. Laird, Lufkin, An. gelina county. Dist. No. 11.-J. D. McLeod, Leggett, San Jacinto county. Dist. No. 12.-John Kountze, Hardin county. T. Lindsey, Dist. No. 13-B. E. Quinn, Beaumont, Jefferson county. Dist. No. 14-J. O. Merriman,. Port Neches, Orange county. Dist. No. 15-C. C. Beavens, Houston, Harris county; J. W. Hall, Humble, Harris county; James P. Rogers, Houston, Harris county; J. L. Thompson, Houston, Harris county. Dist. No. 16-Leo. C. Brady, Galveston, Galveston county. Dist. No. 17-A. R. Shearer, Mont Belvieu, Chambers county. Dist. No. 18-W. I. McFarlane, Richmond, Fort Bend county. Dist. No. 19-W. C. Carpenter, Bay City, Matagorda county. Dist. No. 24-Charles Culberson Rice, Crockett, Houston county. Dist. No. 25-R. E. Seagler, Palestine, Anderson county. Dist. No. 26-James I. Perkins, Rusk, Cherokee county. Dist. No. 27-W. D. Swann, Tyler, Smith county. Dist. No. 28-Julian P. Greer, Poyner, Henderson county. Dist. No. 29-Thomas G. Pollard, Edom, Van Zandt county. Dist, No. 30-P. A. Thorn, Hawkins, Wood county. Dist. No. 31-James D. Lawrence, Dist. No. 32-J. R. Grissom, Mt. Dist. No. 35-J. M. Melson, Sulphur Dist. No. 36-C. A. Martin, Paris, Lamar county. Dist. No. 37-E. B. Barrett, Trenton, Fannin county. Dist. No. 38-Frank E. Perkins, ner, Lamar county. Sum Dist. No. 39-Joe M. Moore, Greenville, Hunt county. Dist. No. 40-C. E. Dinkle, Greenville, Hunt county. Dist. No. 41-J. H. Sneed, McKinney, Collin county. Dist. No. 42-H. H. Cummins, Denison, Grayson county; J. R. Westbrook, Denison, Grayson county. Dist. No. 43-C. A. Barker, Sherman, Grayson county. Dist. No. 44-Barry Miller, Dallas, Dallas county; F. B. Horton, Dallas, Dallas county; John E. Davis, Mesquite, Dallas county; C. O. Laney, Dallas, Dallas county. Dist. No. 45-J. Roy Hardin, Kaufman, Kaufman county. Dist. No. 46-Charles G. Thomas, Lewisville, Denton county. Dist. No. 47-John Davis, Dallas, Dallas county. Dist. No. 48-M. M. Duffey, Marysville, Cooke county. Dist. No. 49-W. A. Morris, Montague, Montague county. Dist. No. 50-Roy C. Coffee, Paradise, Wise county. Dist. No. 51-Eugene Miller, Garner, Parker county. Dist. No. 52-A. B. Curtis, Fort Worth, Tarrant county; Wallace Malone, Fort Worth, Tarrant county; 0. L. Sweet, Fort Worth, Tarrant county.' Dist. No. 53-John H. Veatch, Joshua, Johnson county. Dist. No. 54-John M. Adams, Fort Worth, Tarrant county. Dist. No. 55-Homer Hendricks, Waxahachie, Ellis county. Dist. No. 56-George Garrett, Hillsboro, Hill county. Dist. No. 57-R. R. Owen, Corsicana, Navarro county. Dist. No. 58-Jno. F. Wallace, Teague, Freestone county. Dist. No. 59-J. D. Burns, Mertens, Navarro county. Dist. No. 60-Sam A. Thomas, Groesbeck, Limestone county. Dist. No. 61-R. L. Henderson, Waco, McLennan county; Newt B. Williams, Waco, McLennan county. Dist. No. 62-E. H. Childers, Rosebud, Falls county. McLennan county. Dist. No. 64-F. S. Estes, Franklin, Dist. No. 65-I. Looney, Ben Arnold, Milam county. Dist. No. 66-C. W. Barrett, Temple, Bell county. Dist. No. 67-0. D. Baker, Gause, Milam county. Dist. No. 68-A. N. Lauderdale, Somerville, Burleson county. Dist. No. 69-H. J. Neinast, Burton, Washington county. Dist. No. 70-John H. Wessels, La Grange, Fayette county. Dist. No. 71-W. J. Kveton, Sealy, Austin county. Dist. No. 72-Ed Kacir, Hallettsville, Lavaca county. Dist. No. 73-F. B. Duncan, Egypt, Wharton county. Dist. No. 74-James W. Stevenson, Victoria, Victoria county. Dist. No. 75-H. S. Bonham, Beeville, Bee county. Dist. No. 76-W. E. Pope, Corpus Christi, Nueces county. Dist. No. 77-P. B. Branch, LaFeria, Cameron county. Dist. No. 78-J. E. Leslie, McAllen, Hidalgo county. Dist. No. 79-W. T. Neblett, Jr., Laredo, Webb county. Dist. No. 80-F. H. Burmeister, Christine, Atascosa county. Dist. No. 81-Sam C. Lackey, Cuero, De Witt county. Dist. No. 82-W. M. Fly, Gonzales, Gonzales county. Dist. No. 83-Egbert Schweppe, Seguin, Guadalupe county. Dist. No. 84-J. H. Brown, Floresville, Wilson county. Dist. No. 85-T. M. West, San Antonio, Bexar county; 0. B. Black, San Antonio, Bexar county; Wm. A. Black, San Antonio, Bexar county; W. M. Morgan, San Antonio, Bexar county. Dist. No. 86-A. J. McKean, Prairie Lea, Caldwell county. Dist. No. 114-T. J. Beasley, Mercury, McCulloch county. Dist. No. 115-B. J. Stewart, Barksdale, Edwards county. Dist. No. 116-Grover C. Morris, Devine, Medina county. Dist. No. 117-Walter F. Jones, Del Rio, Val Verde county. Dist. No. 118-Adrian Pool, El Paso, Dist. No. 87-S. E. Johnson, Stone- El Paso county. wall, Gillespie county. Dist. No. 119-J. E. Quaid, El Paso, Dist. No. 88-C. T. Bass, San Marcos, El Paso county. Havs county. Dist. No. 89-John T. Smith, Austin, Travis county; Robert B. Thrasher, Austin, Travis county. Dist. No. 90-J. D. Wadley, Smithville, Bastrop county. Dist. No. 91-Claud D. Teer, Granger, Williamson county. Dist. No. 92-H. E. Faubion, Marble Falls, Burnet county. Dist. No. 93-R. E. Edwards, Osage, Coryell county. Dist. No. 94-John C. Darroch, Goldthwaite, Mills county. Dist. No. 95-J. D. Hanna, Meridian, Bosque county. Dist. No. 96-H. Grady Perry, Dublin, Erath county. Dist. No. 97-W. J. Aiken, Lipan, Hood county. Dist. No. 98-Dr. F. E. Harrison, Graford. Palo Pinto county. Dist. No. 99-Thomas G. Binkley, Graham, Young county. Dist. No. 100-W. O. Wright, Megargel, Archer county. Dist. No. 101-B. F. Johnson, Wichita Falls, Wichita county. Dist. No. 102-A. H. King, Throckmorton, Throckmorton county. Dist. No. 103-J. C. Marshall, Quanah, Hardeman county. Dist. No. 104-S. A. Bryant, Memphis, Hall county. Dist. No. 105-M. E. Rosser, Snyder, Scurry county. Dist. No. 106-Charles H. Rowland. Anson, Jones county. Dist. No. 107-Ben L. Cox, Abilene, Taylor county. Dist. No. 108-Joe Burkett, Eastland, Eastland county. Dist. No. 109-A. L. McDaniel, Gap, Comanche county. Dist. No. 110-Frank H. Sweet, Brownwood, Brown county. Dist. No. 111-C. R. Stephens, Ballinger, Runnels county. Dist. No. 112-0. L. Sims, Paint Rock, Concho county. Dist. No. 113-W. F. Kellis, San Angelo, Tom Green county. Dist. No. 120-W. W. Stewart, Balmorhea, Reeves county. Dist. No. 121-R. M. Chitwood, Sweetwater, Nolan county. Dist. No. 122-R. A. Baldwin, Slaton, Lubbock county. Dist. No. 123-Burk W. Mathes, Plainview, Hale county. Dist. No. 124-H. B. Hill, Shamrock, Wheeler county. Dist. No. 125-Lee Satterwhite, Panhandle, Carson county. Dist. No. 126-Felix J. McCord, Longview, Gregg county. Dist. No. 127-Otto F. Menking, Fayetteville, Fayette county. The State of Texas, I, C. D. Mims, Secretary of State of the State of Texas, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct list of the Representatives whose election has been certified to this department in accordance with the law as having been elected on November the second, A. D. 1920. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name officially, and caused the Seal of State to be hereon impressed, at the City of Austin, Texas, this the 11th day of January, A. D. 1921. (Seal) C. D. MIMS, Secretary of State. ELECTION OF SPEAKER. The Honorable Secretary of State announced that the next business in order is the election of a Speaker of the House of Representatives, and announced that nominations for Speaker of the House are now in order. Hon. Ben L. Cox of Taylor county nominated Hon. Chas. G. Thomas of Denton county. Hon. Newt. B. Williams of McLennan county seconded the nomination of Hon. Chas. G. Thomas. Hon. John Davis of Dallas county seconded the nomination of Hon. Chas. G. Thomas. Resolved, That the Reading Clerk call the roll and as each member's name is called he walk to the Reading Clerk's desk and place his vote for Speaker in a hat. The resolution was read second time, and was adopted. The Honorable Secretary declared nominations closed and directed the Clerk to call the roll, and requested each member as his name is called to come forward and deposit his vote. The Honorable Secretary then appointed the following tellers to count the vote: Mr. Faubion, Mr. Chitwood, Mr. Beavens, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Moore and Mr. Rowland. The votes being taken, and counted by the tellers, the result was announced, as follows: Hon. Chas. G. Thomas received 134 votes. The Honorable Secretary then declared Hon. Chas. G. Thomas duly elected to be Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Thirty-seventh Legislature and appointed the following committee to escort the Speaker-elect to the Speaker's stand: Mr. Hall, Mr. Teer, Mr. Seagler, Mr. Hill and Mr. Swann. The committee having performed their duty, the Honorable Secretary of State administered the oath of office to the Speaker-elect. The Honorable Secretary then introduced Speaker Thomas, who addressed the House, as follows: I scarcely know in what words to express my high appreciation of the honor you have conferred upon me this day. Such words as have been spoken of and to me today, are usually reserved for one's tombstone, perhaps upon the theory that a disembodied spirit may view them without emotion, but to me being still in the flesh and human, they are most pleasantly overpowering, though not entirely deserved. For the honor I sincerely thank you. I am convinced that I stand here in this capacity as the representative of you, my friends, and these friends I can never forget. No king had more loyal sceptre-bearers, no ruler more faithful knights, no general more devoted soldiers, no man more loyal friends, than mine have been. "It is my joy in life to find, At every turning of the road My only prayer is while I live God make me worthy of my friends." But deeper than any appreciative words to them I might utter, it is for me to show my estimation of their services and give them some return, by making apparent and visible, that in selecting and electing me for Speaker, they have given this body a presiding officer who will be absolutely fair, impartial and just to all. The responsibility I am unable to bear unless your gracious aid is accorded me. Confidently do I invoke that aid in the interest of our State whose have placed upon me a supreme and splendid citizenship we represent. You sacred trust, and I now here consecrate myself to your service. Devoted to the State of my nativity, thrilled by her traditions, and mindful of her welfare, I pledge my co-operation as presiding officer in your deliberations. as my friends have been, yet, I am under obligations to no man. I take this office with my hands untied. None of them, noble men as they are, have I shall know no North, no South, no And as Speaker, asked for any favors. Fast, no West, but Texas in her enIn my rultirety, one and inseparable. ings I shall be governed by your rules as I understand them. I As true may make errors-all men do, but I assure you every mistake made by me will be one of the head and not the heart. In all decisions and matters coming before me, I shall be forgetful as to whether my decisions will inure to the advantage of those who may be with me on the question at issue or to those who may differ with me. I shall endeavor to stand as Speaker, as I have stood upon the floor of two preceding Legislatures, on all matters, frank, open, fair, indiscriminate, without favor to any special one-but true to the interest and cognizant of the responsibility of all the people of this State. Efficiency first shall be my standard in appointing the employes and you are as Years ago, when a small boy, as I "Let all the ends thou aimest at And still in later years, I saw the same lofty sentiment expressed upon the tombstone of one of the South's great men in Atlanta, Georgia, which stands after years of rain and storm: "He who saves his country, saves all things, And all things saved will bless him. He who lets his country die, lets all things die, And all things dying will curse him." I have come here, and I trust, so have you, with only one purpose in my heart-that was to give the best serv ice possible as my county's representative to the good of Texas. I had no political ambitions then and have none now. I come as a layman, with the good of my countrymen on my heart, ready and anxious to put my hands and shoulder to the wheels of State and help to push her upward and onward to greater endeavors and nobler achievements. ful attention and deliberate consideration. We are met here for business, sacred business, the people's business, the business of our State Government, to foster its enterprises and provide for its institutions. As I grasp the sentiment of our Constitution the Legislature is to meet every two years for the purpose, first to provide for the support and maintenance for the next two years of the State institutions and support of State Government; and second, to take up such other matters as might be brought before it. The custom in recent years has been to look after other legislation first and then have Called Session for appropriations. I am of firm conviction that we should first look for interest of our departments of State Government and our State institutions and am frank to say, that with the great assistance which the Board of Control offers, our Appropriations Committee should, in two weeks' time or less have bills before you for your consideration. I want this to be a us not working Legislature, and let I wish to discourage the practice of introducing the same bill at the same time in both Senate and House. This practice not only is more expensive in manner of printing, but necessitates more time to be consumed by the committees, of bills that are often killed in one house before reaching the other, as each bill has to be considered by committee, and why not wait until the bill is passed in one house before the committee in the other branch is burdened with its consideration? I predict, judging from other sessions, that over one thousand bills will be introduced in the House, and if the custom above referred to is discontinued, this number will be reduced at least three It has been the custom for years to hundred. Many bills creating indepenselect for this position I occupy, some dent school districts have heretofore talented lawyer and great and many consumed much time in the House. I have been those that have presided from believe that all independent school disthis platform, one whose eloquence tricts under twenty-five miles square could charm while his wisdom could could be and should be created by the instruct. But you have departed from county board of education in their rethat custom in calling me from a plain spective county, who are not only fabusiness life to act as your Speaker miliar with needs of each district, but and I shall feel at liberty to depart with necessary boundaries. Perhaps from the former and in a plain, prac- the Constitution forbids, but would be tical business way remind you of only a great thing if special road laws could a few things. which deserve your care- be handled by the commissioners courts |