Ральф Гейтс: Индиананың 37-ші әкімі және саяси өмірі

American politician

Ralph Fesler Gates (February 24, 1893 July 28, 1978) was an American politician who served as the 37th governor of the U. S. state of Indiana from 1945 to 1949. A lawyer and veteran of World War I, he is credited with returning his party to power after the Ku Klux Klan scandal in the late 1920s that led to years of Democratic dominance of the state government during the Great Depression. His term in office focused primarily on encouraging economic growth as World War II ended through the improvement of the state highway system, education reform, and offering incentives for industrial growth. After leaving office he remained active as a leader in the state Republican Party until his death.

Ralph Gates was born in Columbia City, Indiana, on February 24, 1893, the first son of Benton E. and Alice Fesler Gates. Gates had three younger brothers; John, Scott, and Benton. His father was a local banker, an attorney, and chaired the county Republican Party for ten years. To earn an income as a boy, Gates delivered newspapers and became acquainted with Thomas R. Marshall, who later became Vice President of the United States. Gates attended public school in Columbia City and graduated from high school in 1911. He attended the University of Michigan where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1915 and law degree in 1917. After the United States entered World War I, Gates enlisted in the United States Navy in September 1917. He was mustered in as an ensign and assigned to the Pay Corps, which was responsible to managing the payroll of the navy. In December he was promoted to lieutenant and transferred overseas to work in the War Risk Insurance Bureau based in Ireland where he was employed to sell bonds to insure government war assets. He personally sold over $1 million in bonds, almost entirely to naval personal. In April 1919 he was transferred to France where he was placed in command of an airbase that was being constructed. The base was finished just as the war ended and Gates was offered a position in the Belgian relief effort, but he turned down the offer so he could go home. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the family bank entered a period of financial difficulty. Gates and his brothers were able to successfully meet with each of the banks depositors and convince them to sign non withdrawal pledges. Thanks to their cooperation, the family was able to preserve the bank and made it one of the few in the region to avoid a bank run. In 1928 he succeeded his father as the chairman of the Whitley County Republican Party and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1931 Gates became the Indiana commander of the American Legion. The position led him to travel around the state and meet with many state leaders as he lobbied for veterans.

In 1944 Gates used his influence to secure a unanimous nomination at the state convention to run for Governor of Indiana. At the same convention, by Gates' design, Homer E. Capehart and William E. Jenner were nominated to run for the U. S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. The three men were deeply conservative, but Jenners was the most "rigidly ideological" of the three, leading to growing differences between him and Gates.

In Gates inaugural address he called on each branch of the government to do its job and not to interfere with the other branches. He promised not to abuse the executive authority, and the speech successfully ended what had become a fifteen year battle between the legislature, the governor, and the Indiana Supreme Court over who held the final power to control the state bureaucracy. Gates announced he would focus on three main areas while he served as governor; industrial growth, highway construction, and improved health care. He also urged the legislature to reform state taxes and spending and predicted a fall in tax revenues as the war ended. Gates' position on highway construction came to be at odds with the more conservative wing of the party. The federal government offered matching funds to the state to build certain highways, but they feared taking the money would be seen as a sign of going back on their promise to not let the federal government influence them. Gates insisted that it was in the best interest of the state to accept the money and build the highways, but legislature failed to act on his recommendation. Jenners had been behind the movement to stop the highway construction bill, and Gates retaliated by planning to block Jenners from winning the nomination to run for governor in 1948. The Constitution of Indiana prevented governors from serving consecutive terms, barring Gates from running for office again. However, he still controlled the state party and at the state convention in 1948, he was able to unite the three factions opposing Jenners to deny him the nomination. Jenners, who had a two hundred vote lead in the first ballot, was outraged and never forgave Gates.

When Gates left office he resumed his duties as chairman of the state party, and also served at different times in the national party as a member of the Republican National Committee. He met with Robert A. Taft in 1952 and was offered the chance to run for Vice President of the United States, but he declined. The same year party leaders tried to nominate him to run for governor again, but he refused.

Gates and his wife remained living in their Columbia City home, the same he had purchased in 1919. They also purchased a cottage on Crooked Lake just outside the town where they spent considerable time in the summer. He became an American Civil War enthusiast and collected a large number of books on the subject. After retiring from his law practice he also spent considerable time gardening. He died of natural causes on July 28, 1978. Only a private service was held after his death because of his request for only a simple ceremony where his favorite song, "Onward Christian Soldiers" was played. Indiana State Road 205, which runs from Garrett, through Churubusco and Columbia City, before ending in South Whitley, is called the Ralph F. Gates Memorial Highway. As a governor, Gates was responsible for helping the state to successfully transition from a war to peace time economy. He is best remembered as an important Republican Party leader, who rebuilt the party following its near collapse after the KKK scandal in the late 1920s, and his continued role in the party after his time as governor. The Ralph F. Gates Nature Preserve at Crooked Lake near the Whitley Noble county line was given to ACRES Land Trust, Inc. in 1977 by Phil and Patricia McNagny. A public dedication of an Indiana state historical marker commemorating Governor Ralph Fesler Gates was held on July 2, 2013, at 1:15 pm on the Whitley County Courthouse north lawn in Columbia City, Indiana.