Ernest O. Thompson
Encyclopedia
Ernest Othmer Thompson was a general in the United States Army
during World War I
, a mayor
of Amarillo
, Texas
, an attorney
, a businessman (hotel
s, office buildings, and oil
), and a 32-year member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was recognized as a world authority on petroleum
and natural gas
production and conservation. Thompson was also a patron of the arts
; his first wife was a Metropolitan Opera
singer.
in Wise County
in what is now part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. When he was ten years of age, his family moved to Amarillo, where the senior Thompson, operated a drug store. Thompson was already a successful entrepreneur
even as a teenager. He graduated from Amarillo High School and attended Virginia Military Institute
in Lexington
, and later the University of Texas at Austin
, where he earned a law
degree.
During the Great War, Thompson became an expert in machine-gun
tactics. In the Meuse-Argonne campaign, he worked out a mass machine-gun firing technique and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel
, having received a battlefield promotion from General John J. Pershing
. At twenty-six, he was the youngest lieutenant colonel in the Army. After the cessation of hostilities, Thompson remained in Europe
to direct the stockpiling of German
weapons with the Army of Occupation.
In 1919, he was among the organizers of the American Legion
, which lobbies for various veterans’ causes. That same year, he attended the Paris Peace Conference, where U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
headed the American delegation, which also included Edward M. House
, a rice
magnate from Houston
. In 1936, Thompson was named colonel of the Texas National Guard
. He was promoted to commanding general in 1952 and was thereafter known as "General Thompson” though his biographer refers to him as "colonel".
to Amarillo, General Thompson practiced law and owned the Amarillo and Herring hotels. He maintained a penthouse
suite atop the Amarillo Hotel, where he resided. The hotel was built in 1889. Laura Vernon Hamner
, a West Texas
ranch
historian
, former school superintendent, and well-known civic leader, lived in Thompson’s Herring Hotel for many years. Thompson patronized the western artist
Harold Dow Bugbee
, a curator
of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
in nearby Canyon
. He also built the first multi-story office building in Amarillo, called simply the Amarillo Building.
, a Wisconsin
native and a star of the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City
who was twelve years his senior. The couple met in the First Methodist Church of Amarillo, where Thompson was her escort for a performance. In addition to the hotel suite in Amarillo, the couple lived in the capital of Austin
during much of the time that Thompson served on the Railroad Commission. They also maintained a summer home in Estes Park
, Colorado
. They had no children. Mrs. Thompson died suddenly on her 72nd birthday.
Thompson thereafter married Myda Bivins (1892–1978), the widow
of Miles Bivins, a prominent Amarillo cattle
man. Lee Bivins, the father of Miles Bivins, had been Thompson’s predecessor as mayor, having died in office after four years of service. Hence, Thompson’s second wife was the former daughter-in-law of the man who had preceded Thompson as mayor.
, the Bivins family became prominent Texas Republicans
as the state adopted a two-party system
. Former State Senator and U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Miles Teel Bivins
of Amarillo was a grandson of the late Miles and Myda Bivins.
Thompson was elected to the nonpartisan
position of mayor of Amarillo in 1928 on a platform advocating the reduction of utility
rates. On taking office in 1929, he established a competing municipal natural gas company and launched a successful consumer boycott
of telephone
s to persuade the companies to lower rates. He also launched a major capital improvements campaign. He served as mayor for two two-year terms, until 1932, when he was appointed by Governor
Ross Sterling, a founder of the future Exxon
Company, to the Texas Railroad Commission. A vacancy occurred when commissioner and former Governor Pat Morris Neff
resigned to become the president of Baylor University
in Waco
.
On the commission, Thompson built his reputation as an oil and gas expert. He was elected to full six-year terms in 1936, 1942, 1948, 1954, and 1960. He resigned two-thirds into his last term, and Governor John B. Connally, Jr., named Byron M. Tunnell
, former Speaker
of the Texas House of Representatives
as Thompson’s successor. Tunnell's departure from the House paved the way for Ben Barnes to become the youngest Speaker in Texas House history.
Meanwhile, Ross D. Rogers followed Thompson as mayor and served throughout the remainder of the 1930s, when Amarillo was hard hit by drought
during the Great Depression
.
in the 1930s, where oil prices fell from $1.10 to 10 cents a barrel.
Thompson long opposed nationalization
of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, having served three terms as chairman of the group. He was one of the first to warn the industry against reliance on import
s in time of war, a prophecy which bore fruit with the Gulf War
of 1991 and the continuing War on Terrorism
.
In 1937, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris, France. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for Allied forces.
In 1951, Thompson was honored by several trade association
s: the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."
Both the petroleum conservationists and the major oil companies received a system of mandated oil-production levels known as prorationing. The Railroad Commission determined how much oil could be produced monthly in accord with market demand. This practice permitted price-fixing by major oil companies and conservation of Texas’ reserves. The tens of thousands of independent oilmen who owned most of the East Texas fields opposed prorationing but were reconciled to Thompson’s system when they realized that the commission would allow narrow spacing of wells, a policy which favored the smaller independent producers.
In 1930, the Railroad Commission employed 69 persons; by 1939, it had 566 employees working in multiple divisions. Thompson sought to hire new graduates from the state’s geology
and petroleum engineering
schools. He knew nost of those young people would move to higher-paying jobs in the private sector. However, he believe that they would promote the mission of the Railroad Commission because of their prior employment.
In 1944, Thompson moved to protect Texas interests by leading the opposition to the Anglo-American oil treaty
in the Middle East
. This pact would have formed a commission dominated by the major oil companies to assess post-war demand for Mideast oil and authorized production quota
s. Thompson, Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes
, and the independent oil companies opposed the idea of giving the major companies so much control over global marketing and production. The treaty eventually failed, but the competition from Mideast oil would continue.
, a populist
radio
announcer and salesman originally from Ohio
and later Kansas
. Thompson was believed to have been the leading candidate in 1938 until O’Daniel made his last-minute entry. O’Daniel won the nomination, 573,166 votes (51.4 percent ) to Thompson’s 231,630 (20.8 percent). The remaining 27.8 percent was divided among eleven other candidates.
In the 1940 primary, held when the state had two-year gubernatorial terms, Thompson offered proposals of aid to labor, the establishment of a public utility commission, and a nickel-a-barrel oil tax to pay for the state's old-age pensions. He noted that Texas oil was not limitless and was taxed less than was oil in several other states. Nevertheless, Thompson again finished second to O’Daniel, 645,646 (54.3 percent) to 255,923 (21.5 percent). Also in the race was controversial former Governor Miriam Ferguson, who received 100,578 votes (8.5 percent). The remaining 15.7 percent was divided among four other candidates."Pappy" O’Daniel, as he was known, resigned in his second abbreviated term and narrowly won a special election to the United States Senate
, having defeated then U.S. Representative Lyndon B. Johnson
, on the death of Senator Morris Sheppard
of Texarkana
.
and his alma mater
, VMI. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal
Church, the Masonic lodge
, the Shriners, and the Amarillo Rotary Club.
On his retirement from the Railroad Commission, the Texas State Legislature designated the former Tribune Building as the Ernest O. Thompson Building at Colorado and West Tenth streets. It was the tallest building constructed in Austin during the 1940s.
After Thompson’s death, the Texas Historical Commission
placed a marker to honor him in the 610 acres (2.5 km²) Thompson Park, which the city had already named for its former mayor. The park, located off Dumas Drive in north Amarillo, houses Wonderland Amusement Park
, a small zoo
, a lake, a ball park, a golf course
, and facilities for picnicking.
James Anthony Clark penned the biography of Thompson, Three Stars for the Colonel: A Biography of Ernest O. Thompson in 1954. It was published by Random House
in New York City.
Thompson is buried in the Texas State Cemetery
in Austin beside his first wife, May. In 2001, Thompson was included among the "100 Most Influential People of the High Plains", as compiled by the Amarillo Globe-News
.
Overall, Thompson’s main legacy is perhaps his dogged attempt to keep his state's oil-based wealth within Texas. In 1957, Sam Rayburn
of Texas, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
, told a U.S. Senate committee which was investigating a shortage of American oil production at the time, that “in my humble opinion, the general knows more about oil than any [other] man in the world." Thompson used the occasion to explain how Texas policies had deliberately reduced production to benefit the independent oil producers. The lack of production, moreover, he maintained, was "a myth."
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, a businessman (hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, office buildings, and oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
), and a 32-year member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was recognized as a world authority on petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
production and conservation. Thompson was also a patron of the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
; his first wife was a Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
singer.
Early years and military service
Thompson was born to Lewis Oliver Thompson and the former Flora Lee Agnes Murray in AlvordAlvord, Texas
Alvord is a town in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,007 at the 2000 census.Texas Railroad Commissioner Ernest O. Thompson, who also served as a mayor of Amarillo and became an expert on petroleum issues, was born in Alvord in 1892....
in Wise County
Wise County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,793 people, 17,178 households, and 13,467 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 19,242 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
in what is now part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. When he was ten years of age, his family moved to Amarillo, where the senior Thompson, operated a drug store. Thompson was already a successful entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
even as a teenager. He graduated from Amarillo High School and attended Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
in Lexington
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, and later the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, where he earned a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
degree.
During the Great War, Thompson became an expert in machine-gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
tactics. In the Meuse-Argonne campaign, he worked out a mass machine-gun firing technique and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
, having received a battlefield promotion from General John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
. At twenty-six, he was the youngest lieutenant colonel in the Army. After the cessation of hostilities, Thompson remained in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to direct the stockpiling of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
weapons with the Army of Occupation.
In 1919, he was among the organizers of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, which lobbies for various veterans’ causes. That same year, he attended the Paris Peace Conference, where U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
headed the American delegation, which also included Edward M. House
Edward M. House
Edward Mandell House was an American diplomat, politician, and presidential advisor. Commonly known by the title of Colonel House, although he had no military experience, he had enormous personal influence with U.S...
, a rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
magnate from Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. In 1936, Thompson was named colonel of the Texas National Guard
Texas National Guard
The Texas National Guard consists of the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Texas. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state...
. He was promoted to commanding general in 1952 and was thereafter known as "General Thompson” though his biographer refers to him as "colonel".
Amarillo businessman
On his return from EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to Amarillo, General Thompson practiced law and owned the Amarillo and Herring hotels. He maintained a penthouse
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
suite atop the Amarillo Hotel, where he resided. The hotel was built in 1889. Laura Vernon Hamner
Laura Vernon Hamner
Laura Vernon Hamner was an American author, ranch historian, radio commentator, educator, and public official from the Texas Panhandle who was known informally in her later years as "Miss Amarillo", a reference to her adopted city of Amarillo, Texas.-Life:Born in Tennessee to James Henry Hamner...
, a West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, former school superintendent, and well-known civic leader, lived in Thompson’s Herring Hotel for many years. Thompson patronized the western artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Harold Dow Bugbee
Harold Dow Bugbee
Harold Dow Bugbee was an American Western artist, illustrator, painter, and curator of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. Bugbee sought with considerable success to become the dominant artist of the Texas South Plains, as his role model, Charles M...
, a curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is a history museum on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, U.S.A., a small city south of Amarillo. The museum's contents are owned and controlled by the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, while West Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M...
in nearby Canyon
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,875 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randall County. It is the home of West Texas A&M University and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is some twelve miles east of Canyon...
. He also built the first multi-story office building in Amarillo, called simply the Amarillo Building.
Two marriages
In 1924, Thompson married the former May Esther PetersonMay Peterson Thompson
May Esther Peterson Thompson was an opera singer for the Metropolitan Opera Company.-Biography:She was born on October 7, 1880 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin as May Esther Peterson. She was one of nine children of a Methodist minister...
, a Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
native and a star of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
who was twelve years his senior. The couple met in the First Methodist Church of Amarillo, where Thompson was her escort for a performance. In addition to the hotel suite in Amarillo, the couple lived in the capital of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
during much of the time that Thompson served on the Railroad Commission. They also maintained a summer home in Estes Park
Estes Park, Colorado
Estes Park is a town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. A popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park lies along the Big Thompson River. Estes Park had a population of 5,858 at the 2010 census...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. They had no children. Mrs. Thompson died suddenly on her 72nd birthday.
Thompson thereafter married Myda Bivins (1892–1978), the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
of Miles Bivins, a prominent Amarillo cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
man. Lee Bivins, the father of Miles Bivins, had been Thompson’s predecessor as mayor, having died in office after four years of service. Hence, Thompson’s second wife was the former daughter-in-law of the man who had preceded Thompson as mayor.
Election as mayor
Though Thompson was a DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, the Bivins family became prominent Texas Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
as the state adopted a two-party system
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
. Former State Senator and U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Miles Teel Bivins
Teel Bivins
Miles Teel Bivins served as United States ambassador to Sweden between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on June 9...
of Amarillo was a grandson of the late Miles and Myda Bivins.
Thompson was elected to the nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
position of mayor of Amarillo in 1928 on a platform advocating the reduction of utility
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
rates. On taking office in 1929, he established a competing municipal natural gas company and launched a successful consumer boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
s to persuade the companies to lower rates. He also launched a major capital improvements campaign. He served as mayor for two two-year terms, until 1932, when he was appointed by Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Ross Sterling, a founder of the future Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
Company, to the Texas Railroad Commission. A vacancy occurred when commissioner and former Governor Pat Morris Neff
Pat Morris Neff
Pat Morris Neff was the 28th Governor of Texas from 1921 to 1925 and 9th President of Baylor University from 1932 to 1947.-Early life:...
resigned to become the president of Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
.
On the commission, Thompson built his reputation as an oil and gas expert. He was elected to full six-year terms in 1936, 1942, 1948, 1954, and 1960. He resigned two-thirds into his last term, and Governor John B. Connally, Jr., named Byron M. Tunnell
Byron M. Tunnell
Byron Milton Tunnell was a state representative from 1957–1965, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1963 to 1965, and a member of the elected Texas Railroad Commission from 1965-1973....
, former Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
as Thompson’s successor. Tunnell's departure from the House paved the way for Ben Barnes to become the youngest Speaker in Texas House history.
Meanwhile, Ross D. Rogers followed Thompson as mayor and served throughout the remainder of the 1930s, when Amarillo was hard hit by drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Authority on oil
Under Thompson's guidance, the Railroad Commission developed conservation and production measures that brought order to the chaotic East Texas oil fieldEast Texas oil field
The East Texas Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in east Texas. Covering and parts of five counties, and having 30,340 historic and active oil wells, it is the largest oil field in the United States outside of Alaska, both in extent and in total volume of oil recovered since its discovery in...
in the 1930s, where oil prices fell from $1.10 to 10 cents a barrel.
Thompson long opposed nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, having served three terms as chairman of the group. He was one of the first to warn the industry against reliance on import
Import
The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...
s in time of war, a prophecy which bore fruit with the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
of 1991 and the continuing War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
In 1937, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris, France. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for Allied forces.
In 1951, Thompson was honored by several trade association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
s: the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."
Promoting the Texas Railroad Commission
Thompson did much to enhance the credibility of the Railroad Commission, which had been created in 1891 during the first administration of Governor James Stephen Hogg. He and his wife relocated to Austin, where the commission meets and conducts its business. He tried to build public support for Railroad Commission services. At every opportunity, he promoted Texas oil and the idea that regulation would enhance, not hamper, the free-market. Regulations, however, increased the price of oil by holding back production but promised steady supplies in the future.Both the petroleum conservationists and the major oil companies received a system of mandated oil-production levels known as prorationing. The Railroad Commission determined how much oil could be produced monthly in accord with market demand. This practice permitted price-fixing by major oil companies and conservation of Texas’ reserves. The tens of thousands of independent oilmen who owned most of the East Texas fields opposed prorationing but were reconciled to Thompson’s system when they realized that the commission would allow narrow spacing of wells, a policy which favored the smaller independent producers.
In 1930, the Railroad Commission employed 69 persons; by 1939, it had 566 employees working in multiple divisions. Thompson sought to hire new graduates from the state’s geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and petroleum engineering
Petroleum engineering
Petroleum engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas. Subsurface activities are deemed to fall within the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, which are the activities of...
schools. He knew nost of those young people would move to higher-paying jobs in the private sector. However, he believe that they would promote the mission of the Railroad Commission because of their prior employment.
In 1944, Thompson moved to protect Texas interests by leading the opposition to the Anglo-American oil treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. This pact would have formed a commission dominated by the major oil companies to assess post-war demand for Mideast oil and authorized production quota
Production quota
A production quota is a goal for the production of a good. It is typically set by a government or an organization, and can be applied to an individual worker, firm, industry or country. Quotas can be set high to encourage production, or can be used to limit production to control the supply of goods...
s. Thompson, Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes
Harold L. Ickes
Harold LeClair Ickes was a United States administrator and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest serving Cabinet member in U.S. history next to James Wilson. Ickes...
, and the independent oil companies opposed the idea of giving the major companies so much control over global marketing and production. The treaty eventually failed, but the competition from Mideast oil would continue.
Two gubernatorial campaigns
Thompson twice ran for governor of Texas, having lost the Democratic nomination both times to W. Lee O'DanielW. Lee O'Daniel
Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, , was a conservative Democratic Party politician from Texas, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for his populist appeal, Pappy O'Daniel was the governor of Texas and later its junior U.S. Senator. He is also the only person ever to have...
, a populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
announcer and salesman originally from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and later Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Thompson was believed to have been the leading candidate in 1938 until O’Daniel made his last-minute entry. O’Daniel won the nomination, 573,166 votes (51.4 percent ) to Thompson’s 231,630 (20.8 percent). The remaining 27.8 percent was divided among eleven other candidates.
In the 1940 primary, held when the state had two-year gubernatorial terms, Thompson offered proposals of aid to labor, the establishment of a public utility commission, and a nickel-a-barrel oil tax to pay for the state's old-age pensions. He noted that Texas oil was not limitless and was taxed less than was oil in several other states. Nevertheless, Thompson again finished second to O’Daniel, 645,646 (54.3 percent) to 255,923 (21.5 percent). Also in the race was controversial former Governor Miriam Ferguson, who received 100,578 votes (8.5 percent). The remaining 15.7 percent was divided among four other candidates."Pappy" O’Daniel, as he was known, resigned in his second abbreviated term and narrowly won a special election to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, having defeated then U.S. Representative Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, on the death of Senator Morris Sheppard
Morris Sheppard
John Morris Sheppard was a Democratic United States Congressman and United States Senator from Texas. He authored the Eighteenth Amendment and introduced it in the Senate, so that he is referred to as "the father of national Prohibition."-Biography:John Morris Sheppard was born in Morris County...
of Texarkana
Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue...
.
Thompson's legacy
Thompson served as a member of the Board of Directors of Texas Technological College in LubbockLubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
and his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, VMI. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Church, the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
, the Shriners, and the Amarillo Rotary Club.
On his retirement from the Railroad Commission, the Texas State Legislature designated the former Tribune Building as the Ernest O. Thompson Building at Colorado and West Tenth streets. It was the tallest building constructed in Austin during the 1940s.
After Thompson’s death, the Texas Historical Commission
Texas Historical Commission
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas....
placed a marker to honor him in the 610 acres (2.5 km²) Thompson Park, which the city had already named for its former mayor. The park, located off Dumas Drive in north Amarillo, houses Wonderland Amusement Park
Wonderland Park (Texas)
Wonderland Park is an amusement park located in Thompson Memorial Park, Amarillo, Texas.- Park History :An amusement park was first established when Paul and Alethea Roads purchased some undeveloped grassland in Amarillo's Thompson Memorial Park...
, a small zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
, a lake, a ball park, a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
, and facilities for picnicking.
James Anthony Clark penned the biography of Thompson, Three Stars for the Colonel: A Biography of Ernest O. Thompson in 1954. It was published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in New York City.
Thompson is buried in the Texas State Cemetery
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War...
in Austin beside his first wife, May. In 2001, Thompson was included among the "100 Most Influential People of the High Plains", as compiled by the Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News is a newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by the Morris Communications Company.The current-day Globe-News is a combination of several newspapers published in Amarillo. One began on November 4, 1909, as a prohibition publication by the Baptist deacon Dr. Joseph Elbert Nunn...
.
Overall, Thompson’s main legacy is perhaps his dogged attempt to keep his state's oil-based wealth within Texas. In 1957, Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
of Texas, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, told a U.S. Senate committee which was investigating a shortage of American oil production at the time, that “in my humble opinion, the general knows more about oil than any [other] man in the world." Thompson used the occasion to explain how Texas policies had deliberately reduced production to benefit the independent oil producers. The lack of production, moreover, he maintained, was "a myth."