Homer Martin Adkins

He was born near Jacksonville in Pulaski County to Ulysses and Lorena ({{nee}} Wood) Adkins.{{harvp|"Lives"|1965|p=3}}. He graduated from Little Rock High School in 1907 and Draughon's Business College in 1909. Adkins began working at Snodgrass & Bracy Drug Company in 1910, graduating from the Little Rock College of Pharmacy in 1911 as a licensed pharmacist.{{ cite book |author= Marquis Who's Who, Inc. |title=Who Was Who in American History, the Military |location=Chicago |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |year=1975 |page=4 |isbn=0837932017 |oclc=657162692 }} The Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy granted Adkins special permission to practice for the six months before his 21st birthday.{{harvp|"Governors"|1995|p= 198}}.

Adkins began studying law in 1915, but enlisted in the United States Army during World War I. He rose from a private to a captain in the Medical Corps. Adkins won election as secretary of the Young Men's Democratic Club in 1916.{{ cite news |author= Staff of The Log Cabin Democrat |title= Young Democrats form Organization |location= Conway |publisher= The Conway Printing Company |work= The Log Cabin Democrat |date= February 17, 1916 |volume=27 |number=27 |page=7 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/conway-log-cabin-democrat-feb-17-1916-p-7/ |oclc= 19648290 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} At Camp Beauregard, Adkins met his future wife Estelle Smith; they were wed December 21, 1921. Smith was a Red Cross United States Army nurse, and both were later stationed in France as part of the American Expeditionary Force.

File:Pulaski_county_arkansas_courthouse.jpg

Following return from service in France, Adkins sought the office of Pulaski County sheriff in November 1922. At the time, the sheriff and collector positions were combined. During the Solid South, the Democratic Party held firm control of virtually every office in The South, including Arkansas. Winning the Democratic primary was considered tantamount to election, with several different factions of the party, sometimes including the Ku Klux Klan, battling in the open primaries.

With support of the Klan,{{ cite news |author= Staff of the Parke-Harper News Service |title= M'Crae Leads Two to One; Cubage and Herbert Wilson Races Close; Toney Has Carried Seven Counties |location= Fayetteville |publisher= Democrat Publishing Company |work= Fayetteville Daily Democrat |date= August 9, 1922 |volume=28 |number=223 |page=1 |edition= Evening |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/fayetteville-daily-democrat-aug-9-1922-p-1/ |oclc= 18126013 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} Adkins won a two-year term beginning January 1926, and won reelection in November 1924, but did not win his November 1926 reelection bid.{{harvp|Priest|1998|p=678}}. During his time at the Pulaski County Courthouse, Adkins would clash with Sixth Circuit Deputy Prosecutor Carl E. Bailey, igniting a feud that would impact Arkansas politics for the next several decades.{{ cite news |author= Bailey Campaign |title= Smoking 'Em Out (Campaign advertisement) |location= Hope |publisher= Star Publishing Company, Inc. |work= Hope Star |date= October 13, 1937 |page=5 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/hope-star-oct-13-1937-p-5/ |oclc= 23187909 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} He returned to private enterprise in 1927, working for the Adkins-Williams Fire Insurance Company until 1933. He remained active in Democratic politics, and served on the Little Rock City Council from 1929 to 1933.{{harvp|"Lives"|1965|p=4}}.

He campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 election. Under the system of political patronage underway at the time, Senator Joseph T. Robinson was responsible for rewarding supporters with statewide positions in Arkansas. Adkins was reported to be seeking a post at the United States Marshal's office in Little Rock.{{ cite news |author= Staff of the Fayetteville Daily Democrat |title= Arkansas Democrats Hope for Jobs |location= Fayetteville |publisher= Democrat Publishing Company |work= Fayetteville Daily Democrat |date= March 3, 1933 |volume=38 |number=88 |page=1 |edition= Evening |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/fayetteville-daily-democrat-mar-3-1933-p-1/ |oclc= 18126013 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} Instead appointed as collector for internal revenue in Arkansas in July 1933, Adkins was responsible for educating taxpayers about new taxes and levies ordered at the national level, as well as implementing the collection and enforcing penalties for unpaid taxes.{{ cite news |author= Staff of the Fayetteville Daily Democrat |title= Charge Farmer with Control Act Evasion |location= Fayetteville |publisher= Democrat Publishing Company |work= Fayetteville Daily Democrat |date= October 4, 1934 |volume=39 |number=270 |page=5 |edition= Evening |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/fayetteville-daily-democrat-oct-4-1934-p-5/ |oclc= 18126013 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}{{ cite news |author=Staff of the Hope Star |title=Firearms Must be Registered in U.S. |location= Hope |publisher= Star Publishing Company, Inc. |work= Hope Star |date= October 15, 1934 |pages=1, 3 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/hope-star-oct-15-1934-p-1/ |oclc= 23187909 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}{{ cite news |author= Staff of The Camden News |title= New Hog Tax Ruling Made |location= Camden |publisher= Camden News Publishing Company |work= The Camden News |date= December 13, 1934 |volume=15 |number=197 |page=3 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/camden-news-dec-13-1934-p-3/ |oclc=16997701 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}

As the New Deal agencies multiplied under the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, businesses and individuals required more guidance to navigate the growing federal bureaucracy. In 1934, Adkins traveled the agricultural parts of the state discussing a new measure impacting cotton ginners.{{ cite news |author= Staff of the Blytheville Courier News |title=Ginners to Learn Duties Under Bankhead Measure |location= Blytheville |publisher=Edgar G. Harris and Beulah L. Harris |work= Blytheville Courier News |date= July 12, 1934 |volume=31 |number=99 |page=1 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/blytheville-courier-news-jul-12-1934-p-1/ |oclc=20314526 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}{{ cite news |author= Staff of The Camden News |title= No Bonds Posted by Many Ginners |location= Camden |publisher= Camden News Publishing Company |work= The Camden News |date= August 4, 1934 |volume=15 |number=87 |page=1 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/camden-news-aug-4-1934-p-1/ |oclc=16997701 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} He spoke to local civic groups like Lions Club and Rotary Club and business groups about the changing federal tax system, and held meetings with the public and local potentates.{{ cite news |author= Staff of The Harrison Times |title= Personals |location= Harrison |publisher= Times Publishing Company |work= The Harrison Times |date= February 18, 1937 |volume=18 |number=117 |page=3 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/harrison-times-feb-18-1937-p-3/ |oclc=17000377 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}{{ cite news |author=Staff of the Hope Star |title=Homer M. Adkins Will Address Bankers Meet |location= Hope |publisher= Star Publishing Company, Inc. |work= Hope Star |date= November 24, 1939 |page=4 |volume=41 |number=36 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/hope-star-nov-24-1939-p-4/ |oclc= 23187909 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}{{ cite news |author=Staff of the Hope Star |title=Homer Adkins to Speak on Saturday |location= Hope |publisher= Star Publishing Company, Inc. |work= Hope Star |date= August 7, 1935 |page=1 |volume=26 |number=255 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/hope-star-aug-7-1935-p-1/ |oclc= 23187909 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }}{{ cite news |author= Staff of The Camden News |title= Revenue Head to Explain Act |location= Camden |publisher= Camden News Publishing Company |work= The Camden News |date= January 13, 1937 |volume=17 |number=205 |page=4 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/camden-news-jan-13-1937-p-4/ |oclc=16997701 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} Implementation of the United States' first payroll tax under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) to fund the provisions of the Social Security Act presented challenges to employers in Arkansas, and across the country. Early years were marked by large numbers of delinquencies, and guidance from Adkins and staff.{{ cite news |author= Staff of The Harrison Times |title= Many Delinquent Under Social Security Act |location= Harrison |publisher= Times Publishing Company |work= The Harrison Times |date= March 4, 1937 |volume=18 |number=129 |page=1 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/harrison-times-mar-4-1937-p-1/ |oclc=17000377 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} The statewide travel and meetings Adkins conducted in his IRS position allowed Adkins to build a strong statewide base of support.{{harvp|"Governors"|1995|pp= 198-199}}.

{{Main|1937 United States Senate special election in Arkansas}}

Arkansas' longtime Senator Joe T. Robinson died on July 14, 1937, creating a large void in state politics and a special election to fill the remaining {{frac|5|1|2}}-years of his term. Adkins was mentioned as a possible entrant into the special election.{{ cite news |author= Staff of the NWA Times |title= Arkansas will bury 'Joe T.' Next Sunday |date= July 15, 1937 |pages=1, 6 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-jul-15-1937-p-1/ |edition= Evening |volume=77 |number=201 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }} The key Democratic committee selected governor Carl E. Bailey, who had just recently won the 1936 Arkansas gubernatorial election, in lieu of hosting a Democratic primary, almost assuring Bailey's victory in the special election. Allegations were later made against Adkins for ordering his staff to circulate petitions in favor of a state-wide primary (i.e., against appointment of Bailey).{{ cite news |author= Staff of the NWA Times |title=No Activity at Meeting of Subcommittee |date= July 22, 1937 |pages=1, 4 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-jul-22-1937-p-1/ |edition= Evening |volume=77 |number=207 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE }} Having lost the Democratic nomination fight, a group of anti-Bailey forces tried to convince Adkins to run against Bailey as an independent.{{ cite news |author= Staff of the Blytheville Courier News |title=Committee names Bailey as Candidate |date= July 23, 1937 |page=1 |work=Blytheville Courier News |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/blytheville-courier-news-jul-23-1937-p-1/ |volume=34 |number=108 |location=Blytheville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE }} Ultimately, John E. Miller, another friend of Robinson's, won election as an independent over Bailey.

Adkins also vigorously campaigned for Senator Hattie Caraway over Representative John L. McClellan for the Democratic nomination ahead of the 1938 United States Senate election in Arkansas. McClellan later requested the Treasury Department investigate Adkins' efforts in the election,{{ cite news |author= Staff of the NWA Times |title= Treasury asked to Probe State Poll Complaint |date= August 17, 1938 |page=8 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-aug-17-1938-p-8/ |volume=78 |number=27 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }} but was ultimately cleared by Henry Morgenthau Jr.{{ cite news |agency= Associated Press |title= Fail to Find Atkins [sic] Was Unduely [sic] Active |date= September 21, 1938 |page=4 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-sep-21-1938-p-4/ |volume=78 |number=63 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }} However, the Senate Special Committee on Campaign Expenditures disagreed with Morgenthau, sustaining many of the charges{{ cite news |author= Staff of the NWA Times |title= Committee to Give Findings on Campaign |date= October 7, 1938 |pages=1, 7 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-oct-7-1938-p-1/ |volume=78 |number=77 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }} but ruling "such practices have been common in the past". Adkins responded, "I am and shall continue to be interested in public affairs. I supported Senator Caraway loyally and wholeheartedly as I did the late Senator Robinson and Senator Miller, and in doing so did no more than has been the custom of loyal friends as long as one can remember."{{ cite news |author= Staff of the NWA Times |title= Committee Comments on Caraway Race |date= January 3, 1939 |page=1 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-jan-3-1939-p-1/ |edition= Evening |volume=77 |number=149 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }}

In 1939, Adkins' annual federal salary made news as $6,200 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|6200|1939|r=-3}}}} in today's dollars).{{ cite news |last=Vaccaro |first= Ernest B.C. |title= Fat Federal Paychecks go to State Jobholders |date= October 12, 1939 |page=1 |work=Camden News |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/camden-news-oct-12-1939-p-1/ |number=146 |location=Camden |publisher=Camden News Publishing Company |oclc=16997701 |issn= |lccn= |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }} His tax collection duties continued to take him across the state.{{ cite news |author= Staff of the NWA Times |title= Tax Speaker Here |date= October 23, 1939 |page=1 |work=Northwest Arkansas Times |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-arkansas-times-oct-23-1939-p-1/ |volume=78 |number=83 |location=Fayetteville |publisher=Fayetteville Democrat Publishing Company |oclc=18117496 |issn=1066-3355 |lccn=88051011 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }}{{ cite news |author= Staff of the Hope Star |title= Homer M. Adkins will Address Bankers Meet |date= November 24, 1939 |page=4 |work=Hope Star |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/hope-star-nov-24-1939-p-4/ |volume=41 |number=36 |location=Hope |publisher=Star Publishing Company, Inc. |oclc=23187909 |via=NewspaperARCHIVE |access-date=December 2, 2019 }} Adkins continued to lead the remainder of Robinson's "federal establishment" faction in state politics, battling Bailey over the WPA in Arkansas, Dyess Colomy, and a refinancing of the state's highway debt.{{harvp|"Governors"|1995|pp= 195-196}}.

{{more citations needed section|date=February 2019}}

{{See also|1940 Arkansas gubernatorial election}}

In early 1940, Adkins traveled to Washington D.C. to confer with the Arkansas federal delegation ahead of announcing a bid in the 1940 Arkansas gubernatorial election.{{ cite news |last=Walsh |first=Pat |title=Adkins Reported Nearly 'Ready', Bailey Certain, McClellan Likely |location= Blytheville |publisher=Edgar G. Harris and Beulah L. Harris |work= Blytheville Courier News |date= May 1, 1940 |volume=37 |number=38 |page=1 |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/blytheville-courier-news-may-1-1940-p-1/ |oclc=20314526 |via= NewspaperARCHIVE }} Upon returning, Adkins resigned his collectorship to seek the governor's office. Loathing the idea of turning the statehouse over to Adkins, Bailey decided to break Arkansas tradition and seek a third term, setting up a direct showdown between the leaders of Arkansas's warring Democratic factions in the 1940 Arkansas gubernatorial election.{{harvp|"Governors"|1995|pp= 196}}.

In the 1940 general election, Adkins defeated the Republican Harley C. Stump, the mayor of Stuttgart and a leader of the Arkansas Municipal League, 91.8 to 8.2 percent. In that campaign Stump claimed the employees of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration were underpaid. Adkins was unopposed in the 1942 general election for his second term.

Adkins was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, whose support was important in obtaining his first political victory, and its racist views remained a hallmark of his political career.{{ Cite encyclopedia |first= Patrick G. |last= Williams |title= Homer Martin Adkins (1890–1964) |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=84 |location= Little Rock |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |encyclopedia= The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture |date= January 25, 2017 |access-date= December 2, 2019 }}

Adkins sought to build a voting base based on his background as a Methodist Sunday school teacher and church employee. His detractors often referred to him as "Holy Homer." He campaigned on a platform of reform and ending the practice of bootlegging.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

In his first term, Adkins was awarded honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from both John Brown University and Bob Jones University in 1941. Both are private Christian universities known for conservative cultural and religious positions.

The Adkins administration presided over a doubling of the surplus in the state's treasury. His administration focused on highway construction and financing, electrification, and worker's compensation.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

In his second term, Adkins signed into law a bill that would prevent anyone of Japanese descent from owning land in Arkansas. Looking for a new challenge, he was defeated in 1944 in a bid for the U.S. Senate. He opposed Senator Hattie Caraway and the freshman U.S. Representative J. William Fulbright of Fayetteville. Mrs. Caraway finished third, with Fulbright later winning the Democratic runoff against Adkins. Fulbright then claimed the Senate seat when he defeated the Republican Victor Wade of Batesville, 85.1 to 14.9 percent.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

In 1948, Adkins was appointed administrator of the Arkansas Employment Security Division, the agency responsible for worker's unemployment insurance.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

In 1956, he established a public relations firm in Little Rock.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

Adkins died in 1964 in Malvern, Arkansas. He is interred at the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Little Rock.

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{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |title= Arkansas Lives |publisher= Historical Record Association, Inc. |location= Hopkinsville, Kentucky |year=1965 |last1=Ferguson |first1=John L. |pages=3–4 |lccn=65-25764 |oclc=3621873 |isbn=978-1-56546-451-3 |ref={{harvid|"Lives"|1965}} }}
• Ledbetter, Cal, and C. Fred Williams. "Arkansas Governors in the Twentieth Century: a Ranking and Analysis." American Review of Politics 3 (1982): 36-58. [https://journals.shareok.org/arp/article/view/870/823 online]

• {{cite book |last1= Priest |first1= Sharon |author-link1=Sharon Priest |editor1-last= Runnells |editor1-first= Jonathan |title= Historical Report of the Arkansas Secretary of State |year= 1998 |publisher= Office of the Arkansas Secretary of State |oclc= 40157815 }}
• {{cite book |editor1-first=Timothy P. |editor1-last=Donovon |editor2-first=Willard B. |editor2-last=Gatewood Jr. |editor3-first=Jeannie M. |editor3-last=Whayne |last1=Smith |first1=C. Calvin |title= The Governors of Arkansas |edition=2nd |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |location= Fayetteville, Arkansas |year= 1995 |orig-year= 1981 |lccn= 94-45806 |isbn=1-55728-331-1 |oclc= 988572226 |ref={{harvid|"Governors"|1995}} }}

{{refend}}

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