Show national affairs written tor for the park record by FRANK P LITSCHERT it can be taken as an encouraging sign ot of the political future of the country that men like claudius if huston of chattanooga will turn aside from their business interests to render service to tb the e nation tion by assuming charge of the affa affairs aras of our great political organizations ns that was exactly what hap happened when mr huston a business man of nation nationwide wide ids reputation assumed the ch chairmanship airmans Z ot of the republican national committee ll 11 at I 1 washington that the political lead leaders ers of the party realized this Is indicated by the tact fact that mr huston was chosen unanimously lor for the post and the that I 1 the meeting called to elect a chairman turned into one of 0 the most satisfactory love feasts in tho the history of the party aw aw bow mr W custons Eus tons selection Is taken to mean m can that the republican party will soon be girding its loins for the struggle of 1930 the democrats have been busy on the job tor for several weeks but those who know mr huston well are confident that he will soon catch up with the opposition so far as organization and activity are concerned it may be said in passing that mr huston Is a resident ot of bennef tennessee asee of years standing but that he was born on a farm in harrison county indiana along the ohio river his father was a presbyterian minister and and his mother a native of north carolina the father died when huston was a 26 boy mr huston attended a rural district school which Is stul still known to the community as swamp college because it was located near a swamp later he became a country school teacher at 30 a month the term being five months a year out of his meager pay however coupled c with wages received for farm work in the summer time he saved en ough money to attend valparaiso ual Iver diversity sity in northern indiana while there he earned his bis board by ringing the school bell waiting table sweeping the dormitory floors and the doctors office 04 W after leaving school mr huston went ent to chattanooga tenn teen and later gatei ills his cousin dr H M evans who had been een a teacher at valparaiso started the chattanooga normal school now merged with chattanooga university huston was an employee of the normal school before its merger and later bought a small bustness business college in obtaining employment tor for his business course pupils mr huston came in contact with business men and manufacturers rs and these contacts eventually took him into the manufacturing business he steadily dlly forged ahead as business man and eventually be became I 1 a member of the directing board of a number of large business and financial I 1 institutions of chattanooga while there mr huston also served as president e nt of f the chamber of Corri commerce merc e president ent of the Y M C A president of the dixie highway association and was identified with various other civic enterprises rp 10 aso 0 mr alf huston first took an interest in local and state republican campaigns and then in national politics he was one of the directing forces in tennessee in 1920 when the state was carried by a republican presidential candidate tor for the first time an event which attracted wide attention when mr hoover was appointed secretary of commerce by president harding he sought mr huston for assistant secretary of commerce and the latter agreed to serve tor for one year later lie he agreed to remain for several additional months in march 1923 he be resigned and reentered entered re the business field he became chairman of the board of directors of the transcontinental e antal 0 oil I 1 1 company resigning last april when his task of re financing the company was completed for the past two years mr huston EL ISO also has had the general management ol of all the tha corporate properties including banks in seven large cities owned by the brotherhood ot of locomotive engineers the labor organization had sought bought huston Hus tons s services be because c ause of his experience as a fInan financier cler mr huston Is still the president ot of the tha brotherhood management corporation which directs the tha management of 0 the labor unions banks banka ELI at cleveland boston 11 minneapolis portland ore san francisco and seattle and real estate property which includes two large business blocks at cleveland 0 0 0 1 0 hustons custons Hus tons career Is not unlike that ot of mr hoovers in that he be came up from the ranks worked his way through school r and gained success through ability hard work and a fundamental integrity which inspired confidence in all those who came to know him |