[3] He continued his campaign against gambling and voting irregularities in Dallas, ultimately influencing state legislation enacted to reform the system.
Instead of continuing in that position for additional terms, he accepted the presidency of the district and county attorneys' association of Texas in 1906 and 1907, where he campaigned against betting interests.
[3] Sumners ran for and was elected in 1912 to an at-large seat as a Democrat to the Sixty-third Congress, taking office on March 4, 1913.
[3] In 1914, he ran for the seat from Texas's 5th congressional district, which included Dallas, Ellis, Rockwall, Hill, and Bosque counties, and he was elected.
"[8] Speaking on the House floor while some African Americans watched from the balcony, Sumners attacked the bill using racial stereotypes: "Only a short time ago... their ancestors roamed the jungles of Africa in absolute savagery…[Y]ou do not know where the beast is among them.
"[9][10] Sumners served on the powerful Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and was appointed regularly to investigate allegations of corruption among federal judges.
When the plan's bill was in trouble, Sumners reportedly said, "Boys, here's where I cash in my chips," referring to his waning support for the President.
In 1945, Sumners responded strongly to the lynching of Jesse James Payne, a prisoner in custody of Sheriff Lonnie T. Davis in Madison, FL.
[15] Upon hearing the news, Sumners warned Florida Governor Millard Caldwell, “If these facts are true, or approximately true, this sheriff is not only guilty of a violation of official duty, of a cowardly act, but he is guilty of a direct assault upon the sovereignty of the state.”[16] Sumners chaired the House Judiciary Committee when the Administrative Procedure Act passed on June 11, 1946.
This act gave President Roosevelt increased powers to execute World War II in a more efficient manner.
This suggestion is very important…everything should indicate that you are trying to stop mob violence and that this is the whole purpose of the meeting.”[21] In reference to the 1937 lynchings, an outraged Sumners sent the Governor of Mississippi a telegram that stated “If the press reports are even approximately correct, and they seem to be, these lynchings, both with regard to lynchers and the officers involved, were as dastardly a crime as cowardice could devise and brutality execute.
As one Southern man to another, I hope I will not be considered impertinent by stating candidly my own reaction and that is that the State of Mississippi cannot escape this reflection upon its governmental capacity, in fact cannot escape in effect becoming an accessory after the fact unless it is able to and does bring these lynchers and officers to speedy and adequate punishment.”[22] Sumners called for justice against anyone involved in the now-infamous lynchings including the sheriffs, writing, “The turning over of a prisoner, regardless of the crime charged against him, for execution by some agency other than that provided by the laws of the country is a confession of unfitness to govern.”[23] After leaving Congress, Sumners was the Director of Research for the Southwestern Legal Foundation.
[1] Sumners received an honorary doctor of laws from Southern Methodist University and the American Bar Association Medal.
After services in the Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas, he was interred in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery in Garland, Texas.