Clarence Morley Explained

Clarence Joseph Morley
Order:24th
Office:Governor of Colorado
Term Start:January 13, 1925
Term End:January 11, 1927
Lieutenant:Sterling Byrd Lacy
Birth Date:February 9, 1869
Birth Place:Dyersville, Iowa
Death Place:Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Party:Republican

Clarence Joseph Morley (February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948) was the 24th Governor of Colorado from 1925 to 1927, serving one two-year term. He was a Republican. Before becoming governor he was a judge in Denver, Colorado. He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan which was an important force in Colorado politics during the 1920s and largely responsible for the division of the Republican and Democratic votes that enabled him to take office.[1] [2]

Tenure as governor

Morely took office on January 16, 1925, in a ceremony at the Municipal Auditorium in Denver.[3] Virulently anti-Catholic, Morley was one of the most extreme governors in Colorado history.[4] The Center for Colorado & the West at the Auraria Library wrote:

Morely's administration was marked by "scandals and ineptitude."[5]

Mail fraud conviction

After leaving office, Morley established C.J. Morley & Company, a stock brokerage firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1935, Morley was arrested on charges from mail fraud; he was convicted for 21 counts of mail fraud and using political influences to defraud customers. Sentenced to five years in Leavenworth Prison, he died three years after being released. He is buried in Denver at Fairmount Cemetery.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2021-06-06. The KKK ruled Denver a century ago. Here's how the hate group's legacy is still being felt in 2021.. 2021-06-06. The Denver Post. en-US.
  2. http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/govs/morley.html Colorado State Archives
  3. https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=KCP19250116.2.5# Clarence J. Morley is Inaugurated Governor
  4. Lynn Bartels, Bob Beauprez bypasses KKK member, attacks Hickenlooper as most "extreme" governor, Denver Post (March 4, 2014).
  5. Ed Quillen, Welcome to Kolorado, Klan Kountry at Colorado Springs Independent (May 21, 2003 Updated Oct 15, 2020).
  6. https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_colorado/col2-content/main-content-list/title_morley_clarence.default.html Governor Clarence Morley