William
Borah, the son of a farmer, was born in Wayne County, Illinois, on
29th June, 1865. He was educated at the Southern Illinois Academy
and the University of Kansas, where he studied law.
Borah
was admitted to the bar in 1890 and the following year settled in
Boise, Idaho. A member of the Republican
Party, Borah was elected to the Senate in 1907. During the First
World War Borah was opposed to the Espionage
Act and
campaigned for the release of Eugene V. Debs
and others imprisoned by this legislation. Borah also supported a
national income tax and the direct election of senators.
A
popular politician, Borah was re-elected in 1913, 1918, 1924, 1930
and 1936. He was chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor.
Borah also served on the Committee on Expenditures in the Department
of Justice, Committee on Interoceanic Canals and Committee on Foreign
Relations.
Borah
initially supported the New Deal but
grew increasingly critical of the presidency of Franklin
D. Roosevelt. Boram worked closely with Gerald
Nye, Henrik Shipstead, Bronson
Cutting, John Elmer Thomas, Burton
K. Wheeler,
Lynn Frazier, Robert
LaFollette Jr., and other progressives in the Senate and supported
Huey Long and his Share
Our Wealth Plan.
In 1936 Borah was unsuccessful in his attempt to be the Republican
presidential candidate. William Borah died in Washington
on 19th January, 1940.
(1)
William Borah, speech (1923)
Let us bear in mind, my friends, that
these men are not in prison at the present time by reason of any acts
of violence to either person or property. Whatever might have inhered
in the case with reference to these matters in the beginning has long
since passed out of the case, and these men are in prison today, separated
from their families, deprived of an opportunity of earning a livelihood,
their health being undermined for the sole and only reason that they
expressed their opinions concerning the war and the activities of
the government in the prosecution of the war. They are distinctly
and unquestionably political prisoners in the true sense of that term.
They are not there for the violation of ordinary criminal statutes
or for deeds of violence of any kind.
They are, in other words,
in prison some four years after the war for expressing an opinion
in regard to it. I was thinking today as I was reflecting over this
situation that six months before the time we declared war some of
the most prominent members of the government at that time would have
been guilty of the
same offense for which these men are now in prison. Six months before
we entered the war it was considered most objectionable in the United
States to advocate going into the war. Six months before the war began
we were told that this great World War had its roots in causes
which we did not understand and with which we were not concerned and
that we should keep out of it. It would seem that
the gravest offense upon the part of these men, so far as expressing
their views was concerned, is that they were late in catching up with
the procession. They did not or were unable to adjust their views
to the changed condition of affairs as readily as others.
Do not misunderstand me.
I am one of those who believe that when my country is at war, engaged
in deadly strife with an enemy,
as a matter of policy, we ought to surrender
our individual views and get behind the
government if we can possibly do so. In such
times we ought to reconcile ourselves to
our government's successful conduct of the
war. But while that is my belief, it is also
my contention, grounded in the deepest
principles of free government, that if
a man thinks a war is unjust or improvident,
or that it is being carried on in a corrupt
manner, it is his absolute right to say so.
Indeed, if it is a question of the method of
carrying on the war and he believes it is unwise
or unjust, it is his duty to say so.
(2)
Alice Roosevelt Longworth, interviewed
by Michael Teague in 1981.
There were a number of really able members of the Senate in the twenties,
Jim Reed, Oscar Underwood, John Sharp Williams, and Bill Borah among
them. Jim Reed was a fantastic orator with a saturnine voice. We were
driving around near Wilson's house the night after he died and there
were a lot of people there weeping and on their knees. "Like
fleas who have lost their dog," he said with his distinctive
snarl.
Borah was a great friend.
Like Reed, he was a great speaker. He had never been abroad. He had
nearly drowned as a child apparently and he was afraid of crossing
water. He came from a remote area of Illinois known as Little Egypt
because of its flat delta land. He had a great leonine head and was
a fascinating conversationalist. He could hold one spellbound for
hours with tales of labor disputes in Illinois at the turn of the
century. Unusual subjects like that. But there was a withdrawn, rather
secretive quality about him, which seemed to hold him back. He was
a most intriguing person.
Both John Lewis, who was
another close friend, and Borah were remarkably similar in looks and
also, to some extent, in temperament. They had the same large, shaggy
heads and they both alternated between being very stimulating or very
taciturn. They were never boring. Humor was the great bond between
us.
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