Gov. Neff Put Two Towns Under Martial Law

On Jan. 13, 1903, the day he began his third term in the Texas House of Representatives, Pat Neff was elected Speaker making him at age 31 the youngest in the history of the Lone Star legislature.

Two years later, the rising star caught everybody by surprise with the announcement that he would not seek another term. The burned-out politician went home to Waco and back to his original calling, the practice of law.

In a matter of months, Neff’s many admirers practically drafted him for McLennan County attorney. At first, he wanted no part of it but in time warmed to the idea. Over the next six years, he tried 422 cases and won convictions in all but 16 for an impressive 96 percent success rate. Putting his Prohibitionist principles into practice, he was the first prosecutor in the state of Texas to send a bootlegger to prison.

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