Payne Ratner
Payne Ratner | |
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28th Governor of Kansas | |
In office January 9, 1939 – January 11, 1943 | |
Lieutenant | Carl E. Friend |
Preceded by | Walter A. Huxman |
Succeeded by | Andrew F. Schoeppel |
Member of the Kansas Senate | |
In office 1929 1937–1939 | |
Personal details | |
Born | October 3, 1896 Casey, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | December 27, 1974 (aged 78) Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Cliffe Dodd |
Children | Jurie, Teno, Darb |
Education | Washington University in St. Louis (J.D.) |
Profession | attorney, politician |
Payne Harry Ratner (October 3, 1896 – December 27, 1974) was an American lawyer serving as the 28th governor of Kansas from 1939 to 1943.
Biography
[edit]Born in Casey, Illinois, Ratner graduated from Blackwell High School in Oklahoma. During World War I he served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. He earned a law degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1920.[1] He married Cliffe Dodd on August 21, 1920[2] and they had three children, Jurie, Teno, and Darb.
Career
[edit]Ratner practiced law in Sibley, Iowa, and then in Parsons, Kansas. In Parsons, he was the Labette County Attorney from 1923 to 1927. He was elected as a Republican to the Kansas Senate in 1929 and also served as state senator from 1937 to 1939.[3]
Winning the 1938 Republican gubernatorial nomination and the election, Ratner was sworn in as Governor of Kansas on January 9, 1939. He was reelected in 1940. During his tenure, a department of labor was established, a department of revenue and taxation was organized, the highway commission was given authority over the vehicle department, a teacher's pension plan was implemented, a small permanent building fund for schools was authorized, and the state fire marshal's office, the hotel commission, and the inspector of restaurants were re-established.[4] He left office on January 11, 1943, and retired from politics. In 1962 Ratner was indicted on unethical legal activities; the case was dismissed; and he was cleared of all charges.
Antisemitic campaign
[edit]Although he was a deacon in the Disciples of Christ church, because his father was Jewish Ratner was subjected to a vicious antisemitic campaign during the 1938 gubernatorial election. The Marysville Advocate-Democrat called him "a tricky little Jew with just enough Aryan blood in his veins to camouflage his racial background and make him a welcome visitor in most any kind of respectable company. His father is a full-blooded Israelite who talks equally well with either hand." His opponent and leading Democratic officials condemned the slurs. [5]
Death
[edit]Ratner died in 1974 in Wichita, Kansas.
References
[edit]- ^ "Payne Ratner". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ "Payne Ratner". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ "Payne Ratner". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ "Payne Ratner". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ "The Kansas Isms: Racial Issue Is Interjected Into Gubernatorial Campaign," Newsweek, Sept. 26, 1938. https://archive.org/details/sim_newsweek-us_1938-09-26_12_13/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater
External links
[edit]- [1] National Governors Association website
- [2] Famous Folks of Parsons, Kansas
- Payne Ratner at Find a Grave
- The Political Graveyard
- Publications concerning Kansas Governor Ratner's administration available via the KGI Online Library
- Republican Party governors of Kansas
- Republican Party Kansas state senators
- People from Casey, Illinois
- Washington University School of Law alumni
- American Disciples of Christ
- Iowa lawyers
- Kansas lawyers
- People from Parsons, Kansas
- 1896 births
- 1974 deaths
- People from Sibley, Iowa
- 20th-century Kansas politicians