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The Veterans Land Board Scandal was a political scandal in Texas in the mid-1950s. A political scandal is a scandal in which politicians engage in various illegal or unethical practices. ...
State nickname: Lone Star State Other U.S. States Capital Austin Largest city Houston Governor Rick Perry Official languages None Area 696,241 km² (2nd) - Land 678,907 km² - Water 17,333 km² (2. ...
The Veterans Land Act had been enacted in November 1946. The proposal called for issuing $25 million in bonds, the proceeds of which would be used by the state government to purchase land and resell it to veterans of World War II at 3 percent interest on 40 year loans. In early 1951 another $75 million was appropriated by the state for this purpose. The only stipulations on the purchase was that the loan could not be for more than $7,500 and the tracts of land could not be less than 20 acres (80,000 m²). A 5 % downpayment was required, and the land could not be resold for three years. The law allowed for "block sales," whereby veterans could join togethere to buy the land. This was allowed because it would be difficult to buy 20 acres (80,000 m²) with only $7,500. Dutch East India Company bond, issued in 1623. ...
A veteran refers to a person who is experienced in a particular area, particularly referring to people in the armed forces. ...
Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...
A loan is a type of debt. ...
An acre is a measure of land area in Imperial units or U.S. customary units. ...
The scandal was unearthed in November, 1954 when reporter Roland Towery learned that many of the veterans who purchased land in block sales were not even aware that they had purchased land. In fact, many were led to believe that they were getting free land as part of a veteran entitlement program or else were receiving some type of veterans' compensation from the state. When Towery asked General Land Office commissioner Bascom Giles about these irregularities, Giles denied involvement, attributing the irregularities to local land speculators. Struck by the fact that Giles had defended himself before even being accused of anything, Towrey ran with the story, accelerating an investigation begun by the state attorney general the previous year.
Fraud was soon discovered in nine south Texas counties, and numerous members of the General Land Office were charged with fraud and conspiracy to defraud veterans. Giles was imprisoned for his role in the scandal, and many others paid heavy fines for their crimes. Governor Allan Shivers, as a member of the Veterans Land Board, was badly tainted by the scandal. Ralph Yarborough and his allies in the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party pointed to the scandal as an example of the kind of corruption that the conservative Shivercrats were willing to overlook. In the broadest sense a fraud is any crime (or civil wrong) for gain that utilises some deception practiced on the victim as its principal method. ...
Texas governor Allan Shivers Robert Allan Shivers (October 5, 1907 _ January 14, 1985) was a politician from the state of Texas. ...
Texas politician Ralph Yarborough Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a Texas politician who served in the United States Senate (1957-1971) and was a leader of the progressive or liberal wing of the Democratic Party in Texas in his many races for statewide office. ...
There are many political parties of diverse political orientation called the Democratic Party or similar. ...
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