Judson C. Clements
Encyclopedia
Judson Claudius Clements (February 12, 1846 - June 18, 1917) was a U.S. Representative
from Georgia
. For a quarter century a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission
, Clements served one year as its chairman. Clements had served as a member of the Confederate States Army
.
, Clements attended the local schools, concluding his childhood schooling when he left an academy near Villanow to join the Confederate States Army in January 1864, while still aged seventeen. His father, Adam C. Clements, had been a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1853 to 1854 and from 1861 to 1862, under the Confederacy. Judson Clements served in the Confederate Army during the remainder of the Civil War
as a private and first lieutenant in the First Regiment, Georgia State Troops, Stovall's brigade. He was wounded at Atlanta, July 22, 1864. Clements married Bettie Wardlaw, but she died after only a year, and he remained a widower for many years.
at Cumberland University
, Lebanon, Tennessee
, and graduated from that school in 1868.
He was admitted to the bar
in 1869 and commenced practice in La Fayette, Georgia, remaining in practice there until 1887.
Clements was elected as school commissioner of Walker County in 1871 and 1872.
He served as member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from 1872 to 1876, then in the Georgia State Senate for the 44th Senatorial District from 1877 to 1880. While in the Georgia General Assembly
, he helped write that state's railroad laws.
The representative from the Seventh District of Georgia, where Clements resided, was William Harrell Felton
, an independent. Clements and his five brothers lived in six different counties of the Seventh District, and Felton found himself faced with local issues from six different counties. However, the campaign was non-confrontational, and was described as one of the quietest ever known. Clements' surprising win over Felton by 800 votes was attributed to overconfidence by Felton, hard work by Clements, and the Republican vote voting solidly for Clements. Clements' brothers would keep his political "fences in good repair", assuring his renomination in subsequent years. Clements was elected as a Democrat
to the Forty-seventh
and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1891). While in Congress, he helped write the legislation which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission.
On December 2, 1886, Clements married Lizzie Eleanor Dulaney, daughter of a wealthy real estate owner in Louisville, Kentucky
, in that city. In 1887, Clements moved from La Fayette to Rome, Georgia
, where he served for a year as president of the Chattanooga, Rome, and Columbus Railroad.
Clements was defeated for renomination in 1890 due to political manoeuvering in his district.
Clements welcomed reconciliation between North and South. At an 1889 reunion of veterans, Clements stated that Northern and Southern veterans had worked together to rebuild the South after the Civil War.
In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison
appointed the former congressman as a special United States Attorney
to negotiate the purchase of lands for the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
. Clements had represented the Chickamauga area, and he had worked hard for the passage of the bill authorizing the park. In an April 1891 interview, Clements indicated that he had been able to secure 1,300-1,400 acres but progress had been slow due to absentee owners and the unwillingness of landowners to live under War Department rules in the incipient park. He stated that he expected most negotiations to be concluded by late 1891.
of Alabama, who had died. After being confirmed by the Senate, Clements was sworn in on March 17, 1892. On December 12, 1910, with the resignation of longtime Commission chair Martin A. Knapp
, he became acting chairman of the Committee, and in 1911 became chairman of the Commission for a one year term. In addition to being appointed by President Harrison, he was reappointed by Presidents Grover Cleveland
, William McKinley
, Theodore Roosevelt
, and Woodrow Wilson
, and served as a commissioner until his death in Washington, D.C.
, June 18, 1917.
In 1916, Clements proposed that no worker be allowed to quit a railway company or urge others to do the same until the Commission had the opportunity to investigate the matter in a fair and equitable manner. Locomotive Engineers Journal decried the proposal, especially as no provision was made for preventing the railroads from discharging workers at will.
As a commissioner, he was considered to be a radical. Clements was among the commissioners who led the fight for the Commission to get real power over the railroads, a battle which nearly led to the Commission being legislated out of existence but which resulted in the passing of the Hepburn Act
in 1906. Clements favored the physical valuation of railroads, which would aid in accessing taxation and allow the Commission to better evaluate rate increase requests.
In 1911, after serving a month as acting chairman, he was elected chairman for a one year term despite the reported opposition of President William Howard Taft
, who wanted Republican Edgar Erastus Clark appointed chairman instead. However, at the time, the Commission invariably appointed its senior member as chairman, and Clements was elected. His predecessors had continued to serve as chair until they left the Commission; however, Clements chose to serve only the one year term.
He was interred in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky
. His twenty-five years on the Interstate Commerce Commission remained a record until surpassed by Balthasar H. Meyer
, who served 28 years from 1911 to 1939.
It was said of Clements that no opinion written by him was overturned in substance by the Supreme Court of the United States
. Railway Age Gazette, in urging his 1913 reappointment, noted that while Clements had been criticized, his integrity and capacity for the position were beyond question.
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...
from Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. For a quarter century a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
, Clements served one year as its chairman. Clements had served as a member of the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
.
Early life
Judson Clements was the son of Dr. Adam Clements and Mary W. H. (Park) Clements, who were both natives of Georgia. Born near Villanow, GeorgiaVillanow, Georgia
Villanow, Georgia is located in the Northwestern part of that state in Walker County. It is between Dalton and La Fayette, Georgia. It is a small community of a few hundred citizens only.-Villanow Country Store:...
, Clements attended the local schools, concluding his childhood schooling when he left an academy near Villanow to join the Confederate States Army in January 1864, while still aged seventeen. His father, Adam C. Clements, had been a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1853 to 1854 and from 1861 to 1862, under the Confederacy. Judson Clements served in the Confederate Army during the remainder of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as a private and first lieutenant in the First Regiment, Georgia State Troops, Stovall's brigade. He was wounded at Atlanta, July 22, 1864. Clements married Bettie Wardlaw, but she died after only a year, and he remained a widower for many years.
Lawyer and political career
Clements studied law at Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
at Cumberland University
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...
, Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
, and graduated from that school in 1868.
He was admitted to the bar
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
in 1869 and commenced practice in La Fayette, Georgia, remaining in practice there until 1887.
Clements was elected as school commissioner of Walker County in 1871 and 1872.
He served as member of the Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...
from 1872 to 1876, then in the Georgia State Senate for the 44th Senatorial District from 1877 to 1880. While in the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
, he helped write that state's railroad laws.
The representative from the Seventh District of Georgia, where Clements resided, was William Harrell Felton
William Harrell Felton
William Harrell Felton was an American politician, army surgeon, and Methodist minister. His wife was Rebecca Latimer Felton, who became the first woman to serve on the United States Senate, albeit only for one day....
, an independent. Clements and his five brothers lived in six different counties of the Seventh District, and Felton found himself faced with local issues from six different counties. However, the campaign was non-confrontational, and was described as one of the quietest ever known. Clements' surprising win over Felton by 800 votes was attributed to overconfidence by Felton, hard work by Clements, and the Republican vote voting solidly for Clements. Clements' brothers would keep his political "fences in good repair", assuring his renomination in subsequent years. Clements was elected as a Democrat
Democratic 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...
to the Forty-seventh
47th United States Congress
The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...
and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1891). While in Congress, he helped write the legislation which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission.
On December 2, 1886, Clements married Lizzie Eleanor Dulaney, daughter of a wealthy real estate owner in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, in that city. In 1887, Clements moved from La Fayette to Rome, Georgia
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
, where he served for a year as president of the Chattanooga, Rome, and Columbus Railroad.
Clements was defeated for renomination in 1890 due to political manoeuvering in his district.
Clements welcomed reconciliation between North and South. At an 1889 reunion of veterans, Clements stated that Northern and Southern veterans had worked together to rebuild the South after the Civil War.
In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
appointed the former congressman as a special United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
to negotiate the purchase of lands for the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, located in northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee, preserves the sites of two major battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of Chickamauga and the Chattanooga Campaign.-History:...
. Clements had represented the Chickamauga area, and he had worked hard for the passage of the bill authorizing the park. In an April 1891 interview, Clements indicated that he had been able to secure 1,300-1,400 acres but progress had been slow due to absentee owners and the unwillingness of landowners to live under War Department rules in the incipient park. He stated that he expected most negotiations to be concluded by late 1891.
Interstate Commerce Commission
On March 6, 1892, Clements was appointed by President Harrison to the Interstate Commerce Commission, filling the unexpired term of Commissioner Walter L. BraggWalter L. Bragg
Walter L. Bragg was an American Democratic politician and government official. He was one of the original commissioners of the Interstate Commerce Commission serving from the Commission's creation in 1887 until his death in 1891.-Early life:Bragg was born in Lowdnes County, Alabama on February...
of Alabama, who had died. After being confirmed by the Senate, Clements was sworn in on March 17, 1892. On December 12, 1910, with the resignation of longtime Commission chair Martin A. Knapp
Martin A. Knapp
Martin Augustine Knapp was a United States federal judge.-Biography:Born in Spafford, New York, Knapp received a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1868 and read law to enter the Bar in 1869. He entered private practice in Syracuse, New York in 1870, and was counsel for the municipal corporation of...
, he became acting chairman of the Committee, and in 1911 became chairman of the Commission for a one year term. In addition to being appointed by President Harrison, he was reappointed by Presidents Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, and 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...
, and served as a commissioner until his death in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, June 18, 1917.
In 1916, Clements proposed that no worker be allowed to quit a railway company or urge others to do the same until the Commission had the opportunity to investigate the matter in a fair and equitable manner. Locomotive Engineers Journal decried the proposal, especially as no provision was made for preventing the railroads from discharging workers at will.
As a commissioner, he was considered to be a radical. Clements was among the commissioners who led the fight for the Commission to get real power over the railroads, a battle which nearly led to the Commission being legislated out of existence but which resulted in the passing of the Hepburn Act
Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act is a 1906 United States federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates. This led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers. In addition, the ICC could view the railroads' financial records, a task simplified by...
in 1906. Clements favored the physical valuation of railroads, which would aid in accessing taxation and allow the Commission to better evaluate rate increase requests.
In 1911, after serving a month as acting chairman, he was elected chairman for a one year term despite the reported opposition of President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, who wanted Republican Edgar Erastus Clark appointed chairman instead. However, at the time, the Commission invariably appointed its senior member as chairman, and Clements was elected. His predecessors had continued to serve as chair until they left the Commission; however, Clements chose to serve only the one year term.
He was interred in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. His twenty-five years on the Interstate Commerce Commission remained a record until surpassed by Balthasar H. Meyer
Balthasar H. Meyer
Balthasar Henry Meyer was an American government official and professor of economics and sociology. He served for 28 years as a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission.-Early life:...
, who served 28 years from 1911 to 1939.
It was said of Clements that no opinion written by him was overturned in substance by the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Railway Age Gazette, in urging his 1913 reappointment, noted that while Clements had been criticized, his integrity and capacity for the position were beyond question.