Arthur C. Watson

Arthur Chopin Watson (December 15, 1909 – November 15, 1984) was an attorney, state legislator, civic leader, philanthropist, and chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party from 1968–1976. He was afflicted with polio in infancy and lost the use of both legs, and his mother died when he was only seven. However, his zest for living gave rise to his nickname "Speedy."

Early life

Watson was born in Natchitoches to Arthur William Watson (1877 – 1932) and the former Marie Eugenie Chopin (1879 – 1917). In 1926, at the age of sixteen, he was the valedictorian of the Catholic St. Mary's High School in Natchitoches. In 1930, he graduated "magna cum laude" from the Catholic Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, which was one of the first southern colleges to desegregate.

Thereafter, Watson graduated first in his class in 1933 from the Tulane University law school and received his LL.B. degree. He was a member of the Order of the Coif and served on the student board of governors of the "Tulane Law Review". He was a member of various academic and social fraternities.

Career

Watson returned to Natchitoches to establish a law practice with Judge Denis (pronounced də-NEESE) Joseph Hyams. Over time, the firm became known as Watson, Murchison, Crews & Arthur. Watson quickly rose to prominence in local and state affairs. He was the director of the Natchitoches Parish Chamber of Commerce from 1936 – 1940. He was active in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and was the "exalted ruler" of the group from 1938 – 1939. He was president of the Louisiana Association of Young Men's Business Clubs from 1942 – 1943.

Local politics

Watson was the Natchitoches city attorney from 1946 – 1973; from 1960 – 1962, he was the president of the City Attorney's Association of Louisiana. He was president of the Natchitoches Parish Bar Association from 1938 – 1945. His career slowed in the late 1940s from an attack of Guillain-Barré syndrome, which deprived him of the use of both arms. He recovered and served on the board of directors of the Louisiana State Bar Association in 1955. He helped to create a local government section through his service in the bar association house of delegates.

Political activities

In 1936, Watson ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana House of Representatives on an intraparty ticket opposing the Long faction. Two incumbents, W. Peyton Cunningham and Leon Friedman, were renominated and reelected at large. There was no single-member representative for Natchitoches Parish until 1968.

However, Watson was elected to the legislature in 1940, when Sam Houston Jones of Lake Charles defeated Earl Kemp Long for the governorship. Watson served in the state House until 1943. Though Natchitoches Parish is a neighbor to the Long stronghold of Winn Parish, Watson was identified with anti-Long elements within the state's dominant Democratic Party. Two of Watson's House colleagues who later make unsuccessful races for governor were William J. "Bill" Dodd, then in Allen Parish, and future New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. Another colleague was William Hodding Carter, I, of Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish, whose namesake son and grandson became influential journalists. Still another House member at the time was future Agriculture Commissioner Dave L. Pearce of West Carroll Parish.

He was appointed to the Louisiana State Democratic Central Committee in 1940 and served on the panel for the following twenty-six years. He was vice-chairman from 1960 – 1964 and chairman for eight years beginning in 1968. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee in 1975. His chairmanship began when Louisiana rejected the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a former student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Instead, the state supported former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., running on his American Independent Party ticket. In 1972, Louisiana again rejected the national Democratic ticket to support the re-election of Republican Richard M. Nixon. However, it returned to its traditionally Democratic moorings in 1976 to support former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, as Watson was stepping down as state party chairman.

Preservationist and civic leader

Watson was active for some three decades in various drainage districts, including the Cane River Levee and Drainage District. He was the principal force behind the protection of Natchitoches Parish from the devastation caused by periodic flooding of the Cane River and its dominant stream, the Red River.

A businessman and philanthropist, Watson was involved in various aspects of the heritage of Louisiana. He worked to support the Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve in Natchitoches Parish, named for the noted naturalist and preservationist. He served on the Melrose Commission, which oversaw the restoration of a plantation founded in the colonial era by a family of freed slaves. He helped to secure a National Historic Landmark designation for the site in 1975.

He supported the Louisiana Outdoor Drama Association, which supported the play "Louisiana Cavalier" (about the early settlement of Natchitoches, the oldest city in the state) in the middle 1970s and was a boost to tourism in north Louisiana.

Watson chaired the drive to construct Natchitoches Parish's first modern hospital. He also worked to construct new St. Mary's elementary and high school structures.

He was an officer of several banks and realty development firms, including the Exchange Bank and Trust Company, which was formerly headed by his father. He served as chairman of the Exchange Bank after 1967.

Watson's brother, Eugene Payne Watson (1911 – 1964), was the head librarian at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. On Eugene Watson's death, the library was named in his honor. A national library science scholarship was also founded in Eugene Watson's name.

Watson funded scholarships and other awards for outstanding students at Northwestern in music and library science and was a benefactor of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society. The Arthur Chopin Watson Scholarship for Excellence in Academic Accommodation was established in 1999 in his memory. It is given to a high-achieving junior or senior student who participates in the disability services program of the college.

Personal life

He married the former Marion Eugenia "Gene" Hickman, and they had three daughters.

References

*"Arthur Chopin Watson", "A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography", Vol. 2 (1988), pp. 827-828
*List of Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives since 1880 (Baton Rouge: Secretary of State)
* [http://www.nsula.edu/news/durr18.htm NEWS RELEASE] - Northwestern State University
* [http://www.nsula.edu/endowed_professorships/watson/default.htm Watson Professorship]