Hon. George North Craig

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Last week the Wabash River was running bank-full of political blood, and the man on top in a statewide political brawl was a swiftfooted, swash-bucking lawyer - politician named George North Craig….

Indiana's Governor Craig has been praised by Dwight D. Eisenhower as one of the younger Republican office holders who should be pushed upward and forward ….

An administrator by instinct, he proposed sweeping reorganization: a new department of health, a new department of correction….

His administration started building a toll road across the northern end of the state from Ohio to Illinois….

From Time Magazine
March 7, 1955
(Cover and four pages)


THE HON. GEORGE NORTH CRAIG
His Term as Governor of Indiana Has Been Described as Among the Most Vigorous and Enlightened in Hoosier History. … He Moved from the Battlefronts of World War II to National Attention and Prominence … In 1949 Became the First World War II Veteran to Become National Commander of the American Legion … A Gifted and Eloquent Speaker and a Forceful, Dynamic Personality ....

THE REDPATH BUREAU

THE REDPATH BUREAU
Fisher Building
Chicago 4. Illinois
Phone: Harrison 7-8723

HOWARD HIGGINS
507 Rockingham Street
Rochester 20, New York
Telephone: Hillside 5-1747




THE HONORABLE GEORGE NORTH CRAIG
GEORGE NORTH CRAIG of Indiana moved from the battlefronts of World War II to national attention and prominence, first as national commander of the American Legion and then as Governor of Indiana.

During World War II, his record included service with General Patton's famed Third Army during its campaign to liberate France and, later, the successful invasion in Germany.  An Army reservist before World War II, Gov. Craig entered active service as a lieutenant, emerged with the rank of lieutenantcolonel.

Returning to his home and law practice in Brazil, Indiana, Gov. Craig plunged into American Legion activities, became commander of his local post, moved from there to the post of vice-commander of the state department, and, in 1949, became the first World War II veteran to become national commander of the American Legion.

In this post he first attracted national attention as a gifted and eloquent speaker and a forceful, dynamic personality.  As national commander, he spoke in every state in the nation, expressing strong and positive views on national defense and internal security.  He is regarded in American Legion circles as the most outstanding national commander since World War II.

In 1952, he was elected Governor of Indiana by the largest plurality in the history of the state, and promptly embarked upon a four-year term that has been described as among the most vigorous and enlightened in Hoosier history.

When his four-year term came to an end in January, 1957 (Indiana's constitution does not permit a second term), Gov. Craig could look back over an administration which has included some of the most sweeping reforms of any state in the Union.  Among these were:


1.
Establishment of a new Division of Mental Health, to serve as a central source of leadership and direction for the state's mental institutions.  Expenditures for mental health were stepped up, better doctors and hospital staffs recruited, and in four years' time Indiana moved from near the bottom, nationally, in mental health to near the top.  During the Craig term, Indiana received, for the first time, several awards from the American Psychiatric Association.
2.
Established a new Department of Corrections to serve as a central source of leadership and direction for the state's penal institutions—which before 1953 were, like the mental hospitals, autonomous little kingdoms.  As with the mental hospitals, Craig took politics out of Indiana's prisons, removed several political hacks as wardens and selected, as new wardens, men recommended by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
3.
Established a new Office of Traffic Safety within state government, to coordinate all local and state efforts on a statewide basis to reduce traffic accidents and deaths.  One result of this intensive program was that in 1954, there were 200 fewer traffic deaths on Indiana roads than in 1953.  The ratio of deaths to mileage driven continued to decline in 1955 and 1956.
4.
The Indiana State Police and Indiana National Guard, both ranking near the bottom nationally when Craig took over, were to win national awards for efficiency before his term as governor was completed.
The Northern Indiana Toll Road connecting the Ohio border with Chicago—and acclaimed the nation's finest toll road—was built during the Craig administration.
It was in part because of this constructive and progressive leadership in state government that Gov. Craig, when President Eisenhower suffered his heart attack in the summer of 1955, was prominently mentioned as a possible Presidential candidate.
Gov. Craig is a brilliant and perceptive analyst of current events.  He has the knack of being able to translate complex national and international affairs into down-to-earth, easily understandable terms.




GOVERNOR CRAIG'S LECTURE SUBJECTS

National Defense and Our Domestic Economy
This is a penetrating analysis of what Americans may expect in the years just ahead, now that we have entered the Sputnik phase of the Cold War.

Mental Illness—Our Number 1 Social Problem
Here, the architect of reform of Indiana's medieval mental institutions outlines the future steps necessary in the war on mental disease.

How to Defeat Communism at Home and Abroad
A forthright, straightforward program of action necessary to defeat the greatest peril of our times.

How Much Government Do We Need?
The age of Sputnik gives the urgency to the need for reappraising the duties and obligations of the federal government outside the area of national defense.  Here is such an appraisal from a leader in public affairs.

Can We Provide Safety on Our Highways?
A timely message on the kind of comprehensive, long-range planning in roads and safety programs that is essential if the spiral in traffic deaths is to be halted.