48th Arkansas General Assembly

The Forty-Eighth Arkansas General Assembly was the legislative body of the state of Arkansas in 1931 and 1932. In this General Assembly, the Arkansas Senate and Arkansas House of Representatives were both controlled by the Democrats. In the Senate, all 35 senators were Democrats, and in the House, 99 representatives were Democrats, with one Republican. It was the first General Assembly to use redistricted legislative districts from the 1930 United States Census.

48th Arkansas General Assembly
← 47th 49th →
Arkansas State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Term	January 12, 1931 (1931-01-12) – May 12, 1933 (1933-05-12)
Arkansas Senate
Senate party standings
Members	35 (35 Democratic Party)
President of the Senate	Lawrence Wilson (D)
Party control	Democratic Party
House of Representatives
House party standings
Members	100 (99 Democratic Party, 1 R)
House Speaker	Irving Neale (D)
Party control	Democratic Party
Sessions
1st January 12, 1931 – May 12, 1931

Major events

Vacancies

• Senator Granville Jones (D-31st) died, replaced by L. Walter Wheatley by election
• Representative William U. McCabe (D-Baxter County) died, no record of a successor being elected or appointed
• Representative S.A. Turner (D-Cleburne County) died, no record of a successor being elected or appointed

Appointments

• Senator R. E. Spence is appointed to the 1st Senatorial District due to the resignation of his father, W.E. Spence

Senate

The senate was controlled completely the Democratic party. Eighteen senators were lawyers, five were farmers, three were merchants, with one each listing their occupation as: cotton buyer, insurance man, editor, banker, manufacturer, minister, car dealer, and doctor.[1]

Leadership

• President of the Senate: Lawrence Wilson
• Secretary: M. E. Sherland[2]

Senators

District	Senator	Party	First elected	Counties
1	W. E. Spence	Democratic	1928	Clay, Craighead, Greene
2	Richard C. Waldron	Democratic	1928	Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp
3	Roy Milum	Democratic	1922	Boone, Marion, Newton
4	Robert L. Bailey	Democratic	1930	Johnson, Pope
5	Robert J. Wilson	Democratic	1920	Washington
6	J. P. Ward	Democratic	1930	Independence, Stone
7	J. L. Shaver	Democratic	1930	Cross, Woodruff
8	J. N. George	Democratic	1928	Logan, Yell
9	Joe W. Kimsey	Democratic	1928	Grant, Hot Spring, Saline
10	Ed B. Dillon	Democratic	1926	Perry, Pulaski
10	G. W. Hendricks	Democratic	1930	Perry, Pulaski
11	Creed Caldwell	Democratic	1916	Jefferson
12	T. P. Atkins	Democratic	1930	Lonoke, Prairie
13	Elmo Chaney	Democratic	1928	Arkansas, Monroe
14	John M. Quarles	Democratic	1928	Lee, Phillips
15	J.A. Bennett	Democratic	1930	Ashley, Chicot
16	Tate McGehee	Democratic	1928	Cleveland, Dallas, Lincoln
17	W. F. Norrell	Democratic	1930	Desha, Drew
18	Duvall L. Perkins	Democratic	1928	Bradley, Union
19	Charles L. Poole	Democratic	1930	Calhoun, Ouachita
20	Lawrence L. Mitchell	Democratic	1930	Hempstead, Nevada
21	Ned A. Stewart	Democratic	1930	Columbia, Lafayette, Miller
22	Winfred Lake	Democratic	1930	Howard, Little River, Sevier
23	William H.V. Wahlquist	Democratic	1928	Baxter, Fulton, Izard
24	Mike I. Shuster	Democratic	1930	Carroll, Madison
25	C. R. Counts	Democratic	1928	Crawford, Franklin
26	Guy Walls	Democratic	1930	Conway, Cleburne, Searcy, Van Buren
27	W. H. Abington	Democratic	1930	White, Faulkner
28	J. F. Brewer	Democratic	1924	Sebastian
29	R. A. Nelson	Democratic	1928	Jackson, Mississippi, Poinsett
30	Fletcher McElhannon	Democratic	1930	Clark, Pike
31	Granville Jones	Democratic	1928	Garland, Montgomery
32	Marvin B. Norfleet	Democratic	1930	Crittenden, St. Francis
33	J. A. Thornton	Democratic	1924	Polk, Scott
34	Storm O. Whaley	Democratic	1930	Benton

House of Representatives

The House was controlled by the Democratic party, with only one Republican member. Democratic hegemony was typical in Arkansas and throughout the American South during the Solid South period. Thirty-three members of the House were lawyers, with 21 farmers, 5 insurance men, 4 teachers, 4 doctors, 4 bankers, and three ministers. The remaining members held a variety of occupations, including one homemaker, Ethel Cole Cunningham, the only female member of the 48th General Assembly.[1]

Leadership

• Speaker of the House: Irving Neal

Representatives

County	Representative	Party	First elected
Arkansas	Ballard Deane	Democratic	1928
Ashley	F. H. Switzer	Democratic	1930
Baxter	William U. McCabe	Democratic	1930
Benton	William J. Bullock	Democratic	1928
Benton	E. S. Graham	Democratic	1930
Boone	Louis Dowell	Democratic	1930
Bradley	Carroll Hollensworth	Democratic	1930
Calhoun	Marcus W. Proctor	Democratic	1930
Carroll	Ted P. Coxsey	Democratic	1930
Chicot	Carneal Warfield	Democratic	1930
Clark	T. N. Wilson	Democratic	1930
Clark	Joe M. Thomas	Democratic	1930
Clay	Earl Day	Democratic	1930
Cleburne	S. A. Turner	Democratic	1930
Cleveland	George F. Brown	Democratic	1928
Columbia	Wade Kitchens	Democratic	1928
Columbia	S. A. Crumpler	Democratic	1930
Conway	Charlie C. Eddy	Democratic	1930
Conway	Edward H. Sellers	Democratic	1929 (App)
Craighead	Archer Wheatley	Democratic	1928
Crawford	J. Arthur Spinks	Democratic	1930
Crawford	Jim Scott	Democratic	1930
Crittenden	Robert Eberhart	Democratic	1930
Cross	Sam A. Gooch	Democratic	1930
Dallas	L. E. Purdy	Democratic	1926
Desha	George D. Hester	Democratic	1928
Drew	John W. Kimbro	Democratic	1930
Faulkner	Kenneth Coffelt	Democratic	1930
Franklin	Junius Pugh Clayton	Democratic	1928
Franklin	John Bollinger	Democratic	1930
Fulton	H. O. Smith	Democratic	1928
Garland	Elmer Tackett	Democratic	1930
Garland	R. L. Gilliam	Democratic	1930
Grant	Paul Clark	Democratic	1928
Greene	J. Ed Thompson	Democratic	1928
Hempstead	I. L. Pilkington	Democratic	1930
Hempstead	Curtis Cannon	Democratic	1928
Hot Spring	James T. Morehead	Democratic	1930
Howard	W. H. Toland	Democratic	1930
Independence	L. O. Latting	Democratic	1930
Independence	Virgil James Butler	Democratic	1930
Izard	Tillman E. Lawrence	Democratic	1928
Jackson	Oran D. Watson	Democratic	1930
Jefferson	H. Kemp Toney	Democratic	1930
Jefferson	Sam M. Levine	Democratic	1930
Jefferson	H. Ben Feinberg	Democratic	1930
Johnson	Daniel W. Johnston	Democratic	1928
Lafayette	Guy G. Boyett	Democratic	1930
Lawrence	Jay Hamilton Myers	Democratic	1930
Lee	F. N. Burke	Democratic	1930
Lee	W. L. Ward	Democratic	1930
Lincoln	Joe C. Hardin	Democratic	1930
Little River	W. D. Waldrop	Democratic	1930
Logan	W. M. Wade	Democratic	1928
Logan	Henry Stroupe	Democratic	1930
Lonoke	John M. Bransford	Democratic	1930
Lonoke	W. B. Graham	Democratic	1930
Madison	Charles L. McElhaney	Democratic	1930
Marion	George H. Perry	Democratic	1930
Miller	B. F. Arnold	Democratic	1930
Mississippi	E. E. Alexander	Democratic	1923
Monroe	Ben Hassell	Democratic	1930
Montgomery	Harold Watkins	Democratic	1930
Nevada	J. B. Silvey	Democratic	1930
Newton	William Boyd Pruitt	Democratic	1928
Ouachita	R. K. Mason	Democratic	1930
Perry	G. N. Parmenter	Democratic	1930
Phillips	E. D. Robertson	Democratic	1930
Phillips	Edwawrd S. Dudley	Democratic	1930
Pike	Fletcher B. Clement	Democratic	1930
Poinsett	H. B. Thorn	Democratic	1930
Polk	John T. Owen	Democratic	1928
Pope	J. B. Evans	Democratic	1930
Pope	J. W. Danley	Democratic	1930
Prairie	V. A. Rogers	Democratic	1930
Pulaski	H. B. Stubblefield	Democratic	1930
Pulaski	Tom Newton	Democratic	1930
Pulaski	Murray O. Reed	Democratic	1930
Pulaski	Morgan Smith	Democratic	1928
Randolph	J. E. Smith	Democratic	1930
St. Francis	Charles Fleming	Democratic	1930
Saline	Charles D. Ewell	Democratic	1930
Scott	L. D. Duncan	Democratic	1930
Searcy	S. E. Hollabaugh	Republican	1930
Sebastian	Irving Neale	Democratic	1924
Sebastian	Henry Kaufman	Democratic	1930
Sebastian	John Clay	Democratic	1930
Sevier	James R. Campbell	Democratic	1928
Sharp	Sidney Kelley	Democratic	1930
Stone	Joe Ward	Democratic	1930
Union	T. P. Oliver	Democratic	1930
Van Buren	Joe S. Hall	Democratic	1930
Washington	Wilson Cardwell	Democratic	1926
Washington	Irvin R. Rothrock	Democratic	1928
Washington	Virgil Ramsey	Democratic	1930
White	J. M. Talkington	Democratic	1930
White	J. A. Adkins	Democratic	1930
Woodruff	Walter W. Raney	Democratic	1930
Yell	W. C. Blackwell	Democratic	1930
Yell	Ethel Cole Cunningham	Democratic	1930

References

1. Staff of the United Press (January 13, 1931). "Assembly Sidelights". Fayetteville Daily Democrat. 37 (44). Fayetteville: Democrat Publishing Company. p. 4. OCLC 18126013 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
2. Staff of the Fayetteville Daily Democrat (January 12, 1931). "Neale Speaker 48th General State Assembly". Fayetteville Daily Democrat. 37 (43). Fayetteville: Democrat Publishing Company. p. 1. OCLC 18126013 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.