Posted on: Caldwell Biographies
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Surname: CALDWELL
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JOHN A. CALDWELL, was born in Fair Haven, Preble County, Ohio, April 1,
1852. He received a common school education in his native village, supplemented
by a course in mathematics and Latin. He graduated from the Cincinnati
Law School in 1876, and taught school during the fall and winter of 1877,
and in the spring of 1878 entered upon the practice of law in Cincinnati.
Mr. Caldwell was elected prosecuting attorney in 1881 and again re-elected
in 1883. In 1885, Judge Fitzgerald, a man of great popularity, defeated
Mr. Caldwell for police judge of Cincinnati, but in 1887 he, in turn, defeated
Judge Fitzgerald for the same office. Before he completed his term as police
judge, he was elected to represent the Second Ohio district in Congress.
He was re-elected in 1890 and 1892.
As congressman from the Second district, he was conspicuous as an advocate
of all measures to protect the workingmen, and afford justice and relief
to the soldiers. He strongly advocated the eight-hour bill, under the provision
of which government contractors are prevented from forcing their men to
work more than eight hours. He is the author of the bill to prevent the
desecration of the American flag, and also of the Anti-Lottery bill. He
made the favourable report that secured the enactment of the Car Coupler
law, requiring all railroad companies to adopt safety couplers on all trains
engaged in interstate commerce. He successfully advocated the reclassification
of the various postal employees, under which all railway postal clerks
and letter-carriers are now working. He took a firm stand against the employment
of convict labor on government contracts, and was the author of a bill
to require all prison-made goods, of whatever character, to be stamped,
so as to show where and in what prison they were manufactured. While Judge
Caldwell was serving his third term in Congress he was unanimously elected
Chairman of the Congressional Campaign Committee.
When it became necessary to Republican success in Cincinnati that the party
select as its candidate for mayor the strongest public man before the people,
Judge Caldwell was nominated to head the municipal ticket, and he patriotically
put aside his congressional career, and was elected mayor of Cincinnati.
The Washington correspondent of the Ohio State Journal, writing of the
Lieutenant-Governor, says, "He should have remained in Congress, where
he was establishing a career of usefulness and ability."
This bio, with a nice photo, is found on pages 329-330 of a book titled
"The Ohio Hundred Year Book, 1803-1902, compiled by Elliot Howard Gilkey,
Published by Fred J. Heer, State Printer, Columbus, OH 1901.
Anyone wishing a copy, please send a LSASE to:
DIANNE L. SPRINGER-FULTON
3764 SR224E #74
GREENWICH, OH 44837
Thank you and hope you enjoyed reading this. Dianne