Governor Ralph L. Carr: a Remembrance
| Publication year | 1991 |
| Pages | 2487 |
| Citation | Vol. 12 No. 1991 Pg. 2487 |
1991, December, Pg. 2487. Governor Ralph L. Carr: A Remembrance
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the "day that shall live in infamy," we understandably will be drawn to recall the tragedy and the outrage of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. We should, however, pause to give thought to the manner in which our legal and political institutions responded in its aftermath. In doing so, we would do well to reflect upon the legacy of Ralph L. Carr, a lawyer who achieved prominence both in private practice and public service and served as a two-term Governor of Colorado from 1939 to 1943.
As the wave of anti-Japanese sentiment swept America, Carr stood practically alone in refusing to allow searing emotions and fear to dilute the constitutional guarantees accorded American citizens, even those with family ties to the lands of the Axis nations. Carr stated openly and unequivocally that guilt by association was an unacceptable basis for government policies, in war or in peace. His views were not shared by many leaders in Colorado or in the nation and are thought to have contributed to his defeat in the November 1942 election for U.S. Senate.
Carr's roots and upbringing were in rural Colorado. He was born December 11, 1887, in Rosita (Custer County), a small mining town west of Pueblo, resided briefly in Aspen, and spent most of his school-age years in Cripple Creek. Carr worked as a correspondent for several newspapers and press associations while he earned a law degree from the University of Colorado. He practiced in "victor and Trinidad for a time and managed a local newspaper. He then moved to Antonito in southern Colorado where he became a member of the school board and the town council, served a stint as county attorney, and developed national prominence as a water lawyer.
Carr, who also spoke Spanish, was "especially close" with the Hispanic residents of Antonito and helped many of them with their legal problems. He became an Assistant Attorney General and was thereafter appointed U.S. District Attorney by President Hoover and held that position from 1929 to 1932. Carr returned to private practice after President Roosevelt's landslide election. In 1938, Carr was elected Governor of Colorado and broke a twelve-year Democratic stronghold on that office. He was re-elected Governor in 1940, having reorganized the state government and eliminated a longstanding deficit.(fn1)
Several days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Carr delivered a radio message in which, recognizing the probable consequences of the apprehension and anger of the American people, he urged that
no person ... say or do anything which might cause embarrassment to some individual who is as truly American by reason either of birth or adoption of this country ... as you and I.... We cannot test the degree of a man's affection for his fellows or his devotion to his country by the birthplace of his grandfathers.(fn2)
Pearl Harbor intensified the xenophobia, racial intolerance and economic protectionism that had victimized the Japanese in the U.S. since the early days of this century. Fear of an invasion of the U.S. mainland gained wider currency daily. No less a luminary than Walter Lippman proclaimed that the Pacific Coast was in "imminent danger of a combined attack from within and without."(fn3) Earl Warren, then the California Attorney General, advocated the compulsory relocation of Japanese-Americans which he acknowledged would likely result in their confinement,(fn4) So pronounced was the fear that the Orange Bowl was moved from Pasadena to Durham, North Carolina.(fn5) Members of Congress from California, Oregon and Washington, in a letter to President Roosevelt, recommended the
immediate evacuation of all persons of Japanese lineage... aliens and citizens...
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