He graduated from the Kansas City School of Law in 1913 and was admitted to the bar the same year, commencing to practice in Kansas City, Missouri.

Additionally, he served as judge of the circuit court of Jackson County, Missouri, from 1931 until his resignation in 1934.

Bell also served as a member of the Filipino Rehabilitation Commission in 1945 and 1946.

He did not run for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress, and resumed the practice of law, specifically managing private investments.

He died in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 21, 1978.