James W. Long

J. W. Long
24th Iowa State Auditor
In office
January 1, 1927 – April 21, 1932
GovernorJohn Hammill
Dan W. Turner
Preceded byJames C. McClune
Succeeded byC. Fred Porter
Decatur County Supervisor
In office
1907–1913
Personal details
Born
James Wilson Long

(1873-06-26)June 26, 1873
Ellston, Ringgold County, Iowa
DiedMarch 24, 1966(1966-03-24) (aged 92)
Palo Alto, California
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Emma M. Laney
​
(m. 1898)​
Children4
EducationSimpson College
Western Normal College

James Wilson Long (June 26, 1873 – March 24, 1966) was the Iowa State Auditor from 1927 to 1932.[1]

Early life

Long was born in 1873 in Ellston, Iowa to Lewis Trescott Long and Elizabeth S. (Smith) Long.[1] He graduated from Simpson College.[1] Then in 1896, he graduated from Western Normal College in Shenandoah, Iowa.[1]

He then taught for two years, then as Superintendent of City Schools for another five years.[1]

Political career

In 1906, he was elected as County Supervisor in Decatur.[1] He was re-elected in 1908 and 1910.[1] In 1916, he moved to Ames.[1] He was a traveling salesman, selling county supplies until 1926.[1]

State Auditor

Elections

In June 1926, Long ran against incumbent J. C. McClune in the primary election.[2] Long won 155,670 votes against McClune's 147,317 votes.[2] In November, Long ran as a Republican for Iowa State Auditor against Democrat E. J. Riegel and Commonwealth Land party candidate Alfred Phelps in the general election.[3][4] Long won 353,643 votes against Riegel's 135,671 votes.[3] He was then elected as Iowa State Auditor and sworn in on January 1, 1927.[1]

In June 1928, Long ran against J. C. McClune, again, and O. C. Burrows in the Republican primary.[5] Long won 138,239 votes against McClune's 80,006 votes and Burrows' 65,005 votes.[5] In November, he ran against Democrat Board of Education Member Anna B. Lawther in the general election.[6] Long won 588,682 votes against Lawther's 305,920 votes.[6]

In June 1930, Long ran against J. H. Strief in the Republican primary.[7] Long won 203,702 votes against Strief's 69,944 votes.[7] In November, he ran against Democrat Charles W. Storms in the general election.[8] Long won 325,272 votes against Storms' 177,239 votes.[8]

Audits

On May 13, 1929, Long's office began an audit of former Police Judge Paul E. Custer, at the request of the city council.[9]

Investigation

The commission, formed on February 22, 1932, was composed of former Governor Beryl F. Carroll along with two public accountants, F. J. Harrigan and F. W. Sprung.[10][11][12] Carroll was appointed by Governor Turner.[10] They also consulted with Iowa Attorney General John Fletcher and Budget office director Oscar Anderson.[10] Others involved were Edwin C. Thayer, attorney for Long, Assistant Attorney General Carl J. Stephens, attorney for the commission, and Lois Grimm as stenographer.[11][12] James Risden, Chief of the Bureau of Investigation for the Iowa Department of Justice, assigned three special agents to the investigation.[12] 22 witness were called, with the testimony covering 1,035 pages.[12]

The charges included $4,720.53 worth of misappropriated funds, including personal and political trips and overcharging counties for audits, including Poweshiek County and Hamilton County.[13] It also found that another official, J. V. Lemley, collected $407.27 from the state for political trips.[11] The commission also reported that Long's response to these charges were "...in general not responsive, indefinite, and evasive."[11][12] The political trips were made between September 24, 1929 and May 21, 1930.[11] Long's family also charged for typing services that could have been done by state employees.[11] No forgeries were detected during the investigation.[11] In Poweshiek County, approved an overpayment settlement,[11] while in Hamilton County, 4 pages were removed from an audit and under charged for an audit by around $1,000.[11][12]

The commission delivered the report to Governor Turner on April 18, 1932.[13]

Suspension, removal and replacement

On April 23, 1932, Governor Turner suspended Long from office following the release of a commission report on his activities of misconduct.[13][14][15][16][17] He was succeeded by C. Fred Porter.

Personal life

He married Emma M. Laney on June 22, 1898, and together had 4 children.[1][18][19]

In 1936, they moved to Davis, California, where Long became a real estate and insurance agent.[18]

They were Methodist.[1]

He died in Palo Alto, California on March 24, 1966, at age 92.[18] Emma died on March 15, 1969 in Menlo Park, California, aged 94.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l J. W. Long (PDF). Iowa Official Register. pp. 244–245. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Primary Election, June 1926" (PDF). Iowa Official Register. June 7, 1926. p. 408. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "General Election, November 1926" (PDF). Iowa Official Register. June 7, 1926. p. 461. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  4. ^ "Sample of the Official Ballot for Black Hawk County". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. November 1, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Primary Election, June 1928" (PDF). Iowa Official Register. June 4, 1928. pp. 341, 392, 393. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "General Election, November 1928" (PDF). Iowa Official Register. November 7, 1928. p. 461,484-485. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Primary Election, June 1930" (PDF). Iowa Official Register. June 2, 1930. pp. 397–398. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "General Election, November 1930" (PDF). Iowa Official Register. November 4, 1930. p. 490-491. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  9. ^ "State Examiner Checks Books of Former Judge". Iowa City Press-Citizen. May 14, 1929. p. 2. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c "B. F. Carroll Heads Probe". The Des Moines Tribune. February 22, 1932. p. 3. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Auditor Long Suspended-Called "Equally Guilty"". The Des Moines Register. April 21, 1932. p. 7. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Text of Long Investigating Committee's Report To Governor Turner-Expense Claims Deemed Illegal". The Des Moines Register. April 21, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c "State Auditor Held Guilty In Cost Juggling". The Des Moines Register. April 21, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  14. ^ "Takes Place For Rest of Long's Term". The Des Moines Tribune. April 21, 1932. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  15. ^ "Found Guilty of "Padding" His Expenses". The Sioux City Journal. April 21, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  16. ^ "Trips About State Brings His Removal". The Daily Times. April 21, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  17. ^ "C. F. Porter Appointed to Position". The Muscatine Journal. April 21, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c "J. W. Long". Davis Enterprise. March 28, 1966. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Emma Long". Davis Enterprise. March 17, 1969. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
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