H. R. Gross

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Harold Royce “H. R.” Gross

U.S. Representative for
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
In office
January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1975
Preceded by John W. Gwynne
Succeeded by Chuck Grassley
Born June 30, 1899
Arispe, Union County, Iowa
Died September 22, 1987
(aged 88)
Washington, D.C.
Resting place Arlington National Cemetery (Virginia)
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Hazel Elizabeth Webster Gross (married 1929–1987)
Children Both deceased:

• Phillip "Phil" Gross (1933–2020)
• Alan Gross (1937–2021)

Residence Des Moines, Iowa
Washington, D.C.
Alma mater Iowa State College

University of Missouri
School of Journalism

Occupation Newspaper and radio journalist
Religion Presbyterian[1]
Military Service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1916–1919
Battles/wars John J. Pershing expedition to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico

World War I in France

Awards Purple Heart

Harold Royce Gross (June 30, 1899 – September 22, 1987), known as H. R. Gross, was a Republican United States Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district for thirteen consecutive terms. He is mostly remembered for his objections to wasteful government spending,[2] particularly the taxpayer-funding of congressional travel known as junkets.

Background

Harold Royce Gross was born on his family's 240-acre farm near Arispe, Union County, which is located in southwestern Iowa. After he completed the tenth grade in the public school in the county seat of Creston, Iowa, Gross enlisted in the United States Army though he was too young to do so. Gross served in the First Iowa Field Artillery during General John J. Pershing's unsuccessful attempt tin 1916 to capture the Mexican bandit Pancho Villa. With the American entry into World War I, he served in France.[2][3]

After the war, he briefly studied electrical engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, then Iowa State College. He transferred to the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri.[3] He was a newspaper reporter and editor for various newspapers from 1921 to 1935. One such newspaper was The Iowa Union Farmer, which he edited from 1929 to 1935.[3] He entered radio on WHO (AM) in the capital city of Des Moines. Ronald Reagan was one of Gross' fellow on-air broadcasters at WHO before he entered acting and politics.

Marriage and family

In 1929, he married the former Hazel Elizabeth Webster (1901–1999). At the time he was reporting on the Iowa statehouse, and she was the secretary to the state attorney general.[3] After his election to Congress, Hazel served as her husband's unpaid secretary. The couple had two sons, the attorney Phillip "Phil" Gross (1933–2020) and retired United States Air Force Colonel Alan Gross (1937–2021).[4][5]

Political career

In 1940, Gross ran unsuccessfully for governor of Iowa against incumbent George A. Wilson, who he criticized as providing insufficient help to farmers;[6] he narrowly lost the Republican primary.[7] In the fall, the Republican ticket headed by Wendell Willkie and Charles McNary carried Iowa. After living for a time in Ohio and Indiana, Gross, back in Iowa, was elected to the U.S. House in 1948[8] when he unseated an incumbent in his own party, John W. Gwynne,[9] though the Harry Truman/Alben Barkley Democrat ticket won the electoral votes of Iowa in the concurrent presidential race.

Interestingly enough, Gross was not a hardcore conservative during his first House term and even ironically accused by some of being a "radical leftist."[6][10] However, he moved sharply to the right during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. Among his breaks with the more moderate Eisenhower Administration was on the issue of foreign aid, which he always opposed.[6]

In 1953, Gross voted for the congressional re-enactment of the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations at the urging of Tennessee Republican B. Carroll Reece to sufficiently probe tax-exempt foundations for ideological subversion.[11] It was then known as the Reece Committee.

1971 picture of Gross.

Gross voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[12] 1964,[13] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965;[14] however, he supported the 1960[15] and 1968 bills,[16] in addition to voting in favor of the 24th Amendment to rid the poll tax in federal elections.[17]

During the 1964 elections where GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater lost Iowa by a landslide to President Lyndon Johnson, Gross was the only Republican from the state's congressional delegation to be re-elected.[6] This was attributed to his extensive services for constituents which heavily reduced the chances of being defeated in a re-election bid.

Gross was considered in retrospect a conservative with libertarian leaning,[3] somewhat like another journalist, H.L. Mencken, who also used his first two initials in his name. He was an ardent anti-communist and isolationist who opposed appropriations for the United Nations, in addition to being a strong critic of excessive federal spending. During the presidency of John F. Kennedy, Gross opposed the creation of the Peace Corps and criticized the administration's foreign policy, calling for stronger measures against the Soviet Union.[2]

Gross did not seek re-election in the heavily Democrat-favoring 1974 Midterm Elections. His successor Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley, the current senior senator from Iowa, said that he earned:[2]


“ ...a legendary reputation as watchdog of the Treasury. ”

He rarely missed a roll call vote[18] and often remained in the House chamber between votes, listening carefully to speeches and scrutinizing the details of pending bills, especially spending bills. His colleagues gave him a free trip around the world upon his retirement; Gross told them that he would expect to see some on junkets abroad.

Throughout his long congressional tenure, Gross voted with the conservative side 90% of the time.[19]

Gross died of Alzheimer's disease in 1987 and is interred along with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gross. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Winston W. Williams (September 24, 1987). H.R. GROSS IS DEAD; IOWA CONGRESSMAN. The New York Times. Retrieved on May 7, 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Frank Nye, Jr., "H.R. Gross Puts New Thoughts in Political Minds," The Waterloo Daily Courier, May 28, 1940.
  4. ↑ Phil Gross. findagrave.com. Retrieved on May 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ Colonel Alan Gross obituary. legacy.com. Retrieved on May 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 FascinatingPolitics (August 8, 2018). Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History H.R. Gross: Parsimonious Penny-Pincher. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  7. ↑ IA Governor - R Primary. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ IA District 3. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  9. ↑ IA District 3 - R Primary. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  10. ↑ FascinatingPolitics (July 28, 2021). Revitalizing the MC-Index. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  11. ↑ H RES 217. RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO CON- DUCT A FULL AND COMPLETE INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF EDUCA- TIONAL AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ARE EXEMPT FROM FED. INCOME TAXATION.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  12. ↑ HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  13. ↑ H.R. 7152. PASSAGE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  14. ↑ TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ HR 8601. PASSAGE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  16. ↑ TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  17. ↑ S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. ↑ Rep. Harold Gross. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  19. ↑ FascinatingPolitics (April 15, 2020). MC-Index Scores of People I Have Profiled. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  20. ↑ Harold Royce “H.R.” Gross (1899-1987). Find a Grave. Retrieved on May 7, 2021.

External links

  • Profile via US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
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