Clarence Joseph Morley (February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948) was the 24th Governor of Colorado from 1925 to 1927, serving one two-year term. He was a Republican. Before becoming governor he was a judge in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. He was a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

which was an important force in Colorado politics during the 1920s and largely responsible for the division of the Republican and Democratic votes that enabled him to take office.

Tenure as governor

Morely took office on January 16, 1925, in a ceremony at the Municipal Auditorium in Denver. Governor Morley signing bills

Virulently

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

, Morley was one of the most extreme governors in Colorado history.Lynn Bartels
Bob Beauprez bypasses KKK member, attacks Hickenlooper as most "extreme" governor
, ''Denver Post'' (March 4, 2014). The Center for Colorado & the West at the

Auraria Library Auraria Library is an academic library in downtown Denver, Colorado. It provides academic resources and research experiences to students, staff, and faculty at the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), the Metropolitan State University of ...

wrote: Morely's administration was marked by "scandals and ineptitude."

Mail fraud conviction

After leaving office, Morley established C.J. Morley & Company, a stock brokerage firm in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana. In 1935, Morley was arrested on charges from

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

; he was convicted for 21 counts of mail fraud and using political influences to defraud customers. Sentenced to five years in Leavenworth Prison, he died three years after being released. He is buried in Denver at Fairmount Cemetery.Governor Clarence Morley
National Governors Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Clarence 1869 births 1948 deaths People from Dyersville, Iowa American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes Republican Party governors of Colorado American Ku Klux Klan members convicted of crimes Politicians from Oklahoma City Critics of the Catholic Church Colorado politicians convicted of crimes Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud 20th-century Colorado politicians