Sen. George Norris and the Unicameral

This week, on Friday. we will again honor McCook's most famous son, George Norris, with the Prayer Breakfast at McCook's Senior Center.

This breakfast is always a key part of the annual Heritage Days Celebration. The event is sponsored by the George W. Norris Foundation, and serves as a reminder of some of the noteworthy things that Sen. Norris did for Nebraska and the nation. This seems like an appropriate time to take note of one of these achievements.

Next year Nebraska will mark the 80th year of its one of a kind, Unicameral Legislature. I believe it is safe to say that Nebraska's adoption of the Unicameral would never have occurred without the strong leadership of Sen. Norris.

George Norris was born in Sandusky, Ohio at the beginning of the Civil War, in 1861. He received his early education in Ohio, and even began his career there -- as a school teacher, before coming to Nebraska, to Beaver City, in the late 1880s. It was here he made his home, married his first wife, Pluma, and launched his career -- first in business, then politics.

In 1895 Norris was elected Judge of the 14th District, serving seven Southwestern Nebraska Counties. He served this position until 1897. In 1900 Norris moved with Pluma and two little girls to McCook, largely because of its position on the main line of the Burlington Missouri Railroad, which made travel so much more convenient.

Shortly after their arrival in McCook, Norris faced twin tragedies that had a profound effect on his life. As he was planning on a visit to Ohio to see his mother, with whom he was extremely close, he got word of her unexpected death. Then, in March 1901, his wife, Pluma died, just five days after delivering their third daughter, Gertrude.

Norris was active in McCook politics almost from the moment of his arrival in the city, including a stint on the McCook School Board. In 1902 he made a bid for, and was elected to a seat in the US Congress, representing the old 5th Nebraska District, embarking upon what would be a 41 year stay in Washington -- Congress and Senate, taking with him a new wife, Ellie Leonard, a teacher at McCook's West Ward School.

Norris made his mark upon the Congress, as a leader of the insurrectionist band of Progressive Republicans who stripped long time Speaker of the House Joe Cannon of many of his dictatorial powers. However, today Norris is best remembered, not for his accomplishments in Congress, but as one of the nation's outstanding Senators, a position he held from 1913-1944.

In Nebraska George Norris is remembered as The Father of the Nebraska Unicameral. He had first advanced his idea of a One House Legislature in 1923, with an article he penned for The New York Times, titled, "A Model State Legislature." In this article, Norris argued that "After 100 years it has been demonstrated that the two-branch legislature is very unsatisfactory as far as the various states are concerned. The two-house legislature is a relic of the past."

He pointed out that it was impossible to place the blame or to attribute success for legislation in the two-house system. But most of all, Norris hated the veil of secrecy that the conference committee provided, where the finishing touches of the legislation were added. He described the secrecy as "the greatest evil of the two-house legislature.

Norris said that all business would be conducted in the open in a unicameral. He further believed that reducing the number of legislators would be more efficient.

In November 1933 the real kickoff for the Unicameral began -- in McCook. Norris outlined the main arguments supporting the Unicameral and asked Nebraskans across the state to circulate petitions for an initiative to amend the State Constitution. 60,000 signatures were necessary to place the issue on the ballot.

The petition drive proved to be tough going. Several times the Unicameral Committee considered throwing in the towel, and giving up the whole project. Norris would not hear of quitting his pet project. Several times he was called on to inject new life into the campaign. On one occasion he sent his personal check of $1,000 to revive the effort for the ammendment. (Note: Sen. Norris was not a rich man, and $1,000, the approximate salary of a public school teacher in 1934, represented a very large sum for him to give -- but it was an indication of Norris' deep commitment to the cause.)

By October Sen. Norris took note of the fact that his Unicameral project was in serious trouble. He had hoped to make the campaign nonpartisan by involving supporters of the Unicameral amendment from both Democrats and Republicans. However, a number of the state's newspapers, business organizations, railroad officials, utility company executives and an organized political movement by various groups opposed to the amendment to the State Constitution, threatened to defeat his efforts.

Norris decided that if he was to have any hope for success he, personally, would have to take a much more prominent part in the campaign. To that end he embarked upon a speaking tour of the state, endorsing the Unicameral Amendment at every stop. By election day he had covered about 5,000 miles, and had made some 39 speeches, to ever increasing large crowds.

When Nebraskans went to the polls on Nov. 6, 1934, Norris' amendment for the Unicameral received 286,086 votes, nearly 93,000 more than needed. It had carried in 84 of the state's 93 counties. Through tremendous effort George Norris had gotten what he wanted -- well almost.

Originally, he had thought that an efficient Unicameral body should contain no more than 20, and at most, 25 members. He said that the reduced membership "would make a more deliberative body" and would enable the state to pay a much higher salary, which would attract "more able men to seek public office."

In January 1937, George Norris stopped in Lincoln on his way to Washington and the U.S. Senate. (From his biography) "A new legislature was to convene in the Nebraska Capitol -- a Unicameral, or one-house legislature. Among the crowd there was an undercurrent created by those who knew it would fail, and those equally certain it would succeed."

Today, the Nebraska State Legislature (the only state in the Union with a unicameral legislature) does indeed consist of one house -- albeit with 49 members elected from 49 districts on a non-partisan ballot. And almost 80 years later the voices shouting failure have long since died away. Those that so long ago predicted success for the passage of the Unicameral amendment would most certainly tip their hats to George Norris.

Remember the Prayer Breakfast, 7 a.m. at the Senior Center on Friday, Sept. 27th, sponsored by the George W. Norris Foundation. Good food, music, featured speaker, Sen. Bill Avery of the Nebraska Unicameral. You'll be glad you came.

Source: McCook Gazette Centennial Edition 1882-1982