Other important families in Fort Worth, Texas
In addition to Amon Carter, a few other important families controlled the political, economic, and social life of Fort Worth.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Margaret Carter, October 25, 1975. Interview A-0309-1. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
At this time, along with Amon Carter —— he turns out to loom very large
here——were there other families who would be considered members of the
establishment at that time?
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
Yes. Raymond Buck was a very dependably loyal Democrat through the Texas
Regulars, and the "no third term" movement, and it seems to me that
those movements to break the Democratic party lasted for at least three
presidential elections. And Raymond Buck was the son of a district judge
and a very highly regarded lawyer himself who was aware that the New
Deal had saved the privileged class and that included himself and he
once said to my husband, "I have not forgotten what made me a rich man
and I do not intend to turn my back on the Democratic party." He never
did.
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
Are you referring here to the Jesse Jones Reconstruction Finance
Corporation?
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
That type of thing, yes. 4
* The RFC was organixed during Hoover's administration.
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
So, then …
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
And of course, Mr. Buck was Mr. Carter's right hand man and although he
never crossed Mr. Carter, he had the sophistication to give Mr. Carter
detailed advice about how to get done what he wanted to get done.
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
How about Ann Tandy and that group of wealthy ranching families who lived
in Ft. Worth?
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
To the best of my knowledge, they never took any direct active interest
in politics. Anne Burnette Tandy has always been a private person until
she married Mr. Tandy. Mary Sears, the former editor of the
Star-Telegram's society section, was
inundated with information about parties in which she had little
interest. She never found it difficult to get copious, accurate
information about Mrs. Carter's parties, but Anne Burnett's social life
was a closely guarded secret. Most ordinary people were hardly aware of
the names of Anne Burnett's successive husbands. The Tandys were guests
at John Connally's party for President Nixon at Connally's ranch during
Nixon's campaign for reelection. The guest list for that affair was not
given to the press.
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
So, really Amon Carter was Mr. Ft. Worth.
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
Yes.
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
And the two Carters had a falling out in the late thirties …
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
Well, they never had a falling out. [Laughter]
My husband was just among the people that he didn't have to
notice.
- CHANDLER DAVIDSON:
-
He was never "in" so he couldn't very well fall out.
- MARGARET CARTER:
-
He couldn't very well fall out.