Harold R. Gross
Encyclopedia
Harold Royce Gross (June 30, 1899 – September 22, 1987) was a Republican
United States Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district
for thirteen terms. The role he played on the House floor—objecting to spending measures and projects that he considered wasteful—prompted a national weekly newsmagazine to label him "the useful pest."
, in Union County, Iowa. He was educated in the rural schools. In 1916, after completing his sophomore year in high school in Creston, Iowa
, he concealed his youth in order to enlist in the military service, where he first served with the First Iowa Field Artillery in the Pancho Villa Expedition
. During World War I
he served in France with the United States Army
from 1917–1919. After the war, he briefly attended Iowa State College
in its electrical engineering program, before transferring to the University of Missouri
School of Journalism in Columbia
.
He was a newspaper reporter and editor for various newspapers from 1921 to 1935. One such newspaper was the publication of the Iowa Farmer's Union, the Iowa Union Farmer, which he edited from 1929 to 1935. He began as a radio news commentator for WHO (AM)
in Des Moines, Iowa
in 1935. One of his fellow on-air broadcasters at WHO was a young Ronald Reagan
.
He met Hazel Webster while he was a newspaper reporter covering the Iowa statehouse and she was the secretary to the Iowa Attorney General. They were married in 1929. H. R. and Hazel Gross raised two children, Phillip and Alan.
, in the Republican primary, running what newspapers called a "sight-unseen" campaign. Gross confined his campaign to radio addresses, declined all personal appearance invitations, and made no platform speeches. He lost the primary by only 15,781 votes out of over 330,000 cast, in the closest primary race in Iowa in nearly thirteen years. His campaign was haunted by a statement he had made seven years earlier, while writing and speaking for the Farmers' Holiday Association, that appeared to approve of an episode of mob violence against a judge to stop a foreclosure.
Following his defeat, Gross joined an Ohio radio station and later moved to Indiana. After World War II, he returned to Iowa and became a radio newscaster at KXEL
in Waterloo, Iowa
.
. He wrested the nomination away from Gwynne in the Republican primary without the help of the party organization. In a 1948 general election in which Democratic President Harry S. Truman
surprisingly carried Iowa and Iowa Democrat Guy Gillette ousted Republican George A. Wilson
from the U.S. Senate, Gross won his first of many landslide victories. In his most narrow victory, he was the only Republican member of Iowa's U.S. House delegation
to survive the 1964 Democratic landslide. He was re-elected twelve times before choosing to retire rather than run in the 1974 election. He served continuously from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1975.
, the funeral of President John F. Kennedy
(including the appropriation for fuel for the eternal flame), the size of the White House security detail, the Peace Corps
, the U.S. Space Program, and foreign aid. Gross also refused to go on taxpayer-funded congressional junkets. As Ed Rollins
recalled, "When he retired, his fellow members chipped in and bought him and his wife Hazel, who managed his office for no pay, a round-the-world trip. With tears in his eyes he took one last shot at his pals. 'Wherever we go, I am sure I'll see you all on your taxpayers' junkets!
In the early 1960s he took an early stand against the practice of retired service personnel getting a military pension and another federal paycheck. He opposed restoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower
to his generalship unless Congress stipulated that he would only receive his Presidential pension and not a general's salary also. Gross admitted to having only one regret about his entire career—voting "present" rather than "nay" on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
, explaining that the Vietnam War
ended up costing too much.
remarked that "there are three parties in the House: Democrats, Republicans, and H.R. Gross." Shaking off the Eisenhower Administration's pressure to support a foreign-aid economic-development measure, Gross quipped, "I took my last marching orders in 1916–19."
Gross's personal lifestyle reflected his fiscally conservative views. He lived frugally and rarely attended any parties or social functions common to the life of a congressman. Gross was remembered as an outsider who preferred to sit in his townhouse and watch professional wrestling on TV.
However, even his targets could speak warmly of Gross. Longtime House Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Vinson
, whose defense spending bills often incurred Gross's criticisms, said of Gross that "there is really no good debate unless the gentleman from Iowa is in it."
, making its title the arithmetical equivalent to his name).
Veterans Hospital on September 22, 1987, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease
. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
.
Hazel Gross, his wife of 58 years, died March 18, 1999, in Washington, D.C. She was 97 years old.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
United States Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district
Iowa's 3rd congressional district
Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that currently covers an area from Des Moines to the western outskirts of the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Metropolitan Area to the western outskirts of the Cedar Rapids area and to Lucas and Monroe counties .The...
for thirteen terms. The role he played on the House floor—objecting to spending measures and projects that he considered wasteful—prompted a national weekly newsmagazine to label him "the useful pest."
Personal background
Gross was born on his parents' 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) farm near ArispeArispe, Iowa
Arispe is a city in Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 89 at the 2000 census. It is closely related to the nearby town of Creston.-Geography:Arispe is located at ....
, in Union County, Iowa. He was educated in the rural schools. In 1916, after completing his sophomore year in high school in Creston, Iowa
Creston, Iowa
Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,597 at the 2000 census. McKinley Lake lies within a large, multi-purpose municipal park within the city limits, and three additional recreational lakes are located within seven miles of Creston:...
, he concealed his youth in order to enlist in the military service, where he first served with the First Iowa Field Artillery in the Pancho Villa Expedition
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served in France with the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1917–1919. After the war, he briefly attended Iowa State College
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
in its electrical engineering program, before transferring to the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
School of Journalism in Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
.
He was a newspaper reporter and editor for various newspapers from 1921 to 1935. One such newspaper was the publication of the Iowa Farmer's Union, the Iowa Union Farmer, which he edited from 1929 to 1935. He began as a radio news commentator for WHO (AM)
WHO (AM)
WHO is a clear channel radio station broadcasting 50,000 watts on 1040 AM with a news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is located in Des Moines, Iowa. The station can be heard over most of the continental United States during nighttime hours...
in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
in 1935. One of his fellow on-air broadcasters at WHO was a young Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
He met Hazel Webster while he was a newspaper reporter covering the Iowa statehouse and she was the secretary to the Iowa Attorney General. They were married in 1929. H. R. and Hazel Gross raised two children, Phillip and Alan.
1940 run for Governor of Iowa
In 1940, Gross challenged Iowa's sitting Governor, George A. WilsonGeorge A. Wilson
George Allison Wilson was a United States Senator and 28th Governor of Iowa.-Personal background:Born on a farm near Menlo, Iowa, Wilson attended rural schools, and Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law at Iowa City in 1907, and was admitted to...
, in the Republican primary, running what newspapers called a "sight-unseen" campaign. Gross confined his campaign to radio addresses, declined all personal appearance invitations, and made no platform speeches. He lost the primary by only 15,781 votes out of over 330,000 cast, in the closest primary race in Iowa in nearly thirteen years. His campaign was haunted by a statement he had made seven years earlier, while writing and speaking for the Farmers' Holiday Association, that appeared to approve of an episode of mob violence against a judge to stop a foreclosure.
Following his defeat, Gross joined an Ohio radio station and later moved to Indiana. After World War II, he returned to Iowa and became a radio newscaster at KXEL
KXEL
KXEL is a Class A AM radio station serving the Waterloo/Cedar Rapids metropolitan area with a News/Talk format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 1540 kHz and is under ownership of Bahakel Communications. KXEL is also the flagship station of the University of Northern Iowa Sports...
in Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
.
Congressional elections and re-elections
In 1948, Gross ran against an incumbent House member of his own party, Republican John W. GwynneJohn W. Gwynne
John Williams Gwynne was a seven-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district, and a Federal Trade Commission member and chairman during the Eisenhower Administration.- Personal background :...
. He wrested the nomination away from Gwynne in the Republican primary without the help of the party organization. In a 1948 general election in which Democratic President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
surprisingly carried Iowa and Iowa Democrat Guy Gillette ousted Republican George A. Wilson
George A. Wilson
George Allison Wilson was a United States Senator and 28th Governor of Iowa.-Personal background:Born on a farm near Menlo, Iowa, Wilson attended rural schools, and Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law at Iowa City in 1907, and was admitted to...
from the U.S. Senate, Gross won his first of many landslide victories. In his most narrow victory, he was the only Republican member of Iowa's U.S. House delegation
United States Congressional Delegations from Iowa
These are tables of congressional delegations from Iowa to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.-United States Senate:...
to survive the 1964 Democratic landslide. He was re-elected twelve times before choosing to retire rather than run in the 1974 election. He served continuously from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1975.
Fiscal conservatism
In the words of his successor, Charles Grassley, Gross earned "a legendary reputation as watchdog of the Treasury." He rarely missed a roll call vote, and often remained in the House chamber between roll-call votes, listening carefully to speeches and scrutinizing the details of pending bills, especially spending bills. He denounced, among other things, the Marshall PlanMarshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
, the funeral of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(including the appropriation for fuel for the eternal flame), the size of the White House security detail, the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
, the U.S. Space Program, and foreign aid. Gross also refused to go on taxpayer-funded congressional junkets. As Ed Rollins
Ed Rollins
Edward John "Ed" Rollins is a Republican campaign consultant and advisor who has worked on several high-profile political campaigns in the United States. In 1983-84, he was National Campaign Director for the Reagan-Bush '84 campaign, winning 49 of 50 states...
recalled, "When he retired, his fellow members chipped in and bought him and his wife Hazel, who managed his office for no pay, a round-the-world trip. With tears in his eyes he took one last shot at his pals. 'Wherever we go, I am sure I'll see you all on your taxpayers' junkets!
In the early 1960s he took an early stand against the practice of retired service personnel getting a military pension and another federal paycheck. He opposed restoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
to his generalship unless Congress stipulated that he would only receive his Presidential pension and not a general's salary also. Gross admitted to having only one regret about his entire career—voting "present" rather than "nay" on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint resolution which the United States Congress passed on August 10, 1964 in response to a sea battle between the North Vietnamese Navy's Torpedo Squadron 10135 and the destroyer on August 2 and an alleged second naval engagement between North Vietnamese boats...
, explaining that the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
ended up costing too much.
Independence
Gross was also known for his independence, so much so that then-House Minority Leader Gerald FordGerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
remarked that "there are three parties in the House: Democrats, Republicans, and H.R. Gross." Shaking off the Eisenhower Administration's pressure to support a foreign-aid economic-development measure, Gross quipped, "I took my last marching orders in 1916–19."
Gross's personal lifestyle reflected his fiscally conservative views. He lived frugally and rarely attended any parties or social functions common to the life of a congressman. Gross was remembered as an outsider who preferred to sit in his townhouse and watch professional wrestling on TV.
However, even his targets could speak warmly of Gross. Longtime House Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Vinson
Carl Vinson
Carl Vinson was a United States Representative from Georgia. He was a Democrat and the first person to serve for more than 50 years in the United States House of Representatives...
, whose defense spending bills often incurred Gross's criticisms, said of Gross that "there is really no good debate unless the gentleman from Iowa is in it."
H.R. 144
When Gross was in Congress, a special exception was made to the practice that bills offered in the House were numbered consecutively. The number H.R. 144 was reserved each session for one of Representative Gross's bills (because 144 equals one grossGross (unit)
A gross is equal to a dozen dozen, i.e. 12 × 12 = 144.It can be used in duodecimal counting. The use of gross likely originated from the fact that 144 can be counted on the fingers using the fingertips and first two joints of each finger when marked by the thumb of one hand. The other hand...
, making its title the arithmetical equivalent to his name).
Death
He was a resident of Arlington, Virginia, until his death in a Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Veterans Hospital on September 22, 1987, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Hazel Gross, his wife of 58 years, died March 18, 1999, in Washington, D.C. She was 97 years old.