At the outbreak of World War I, he worked in Washington, D.C., to "straighten out the inefficiencies of the American Express Railway Company in the District of Columbia, which was a center of supply distribution."

[3] His second wife, Nellie, obtained a divorce in November 1935 on the grounds that her husband struck her and refused to support her properly and that he was abusive and drank to excess.

[4] Rice-Wray defeated 6th District Council Member Edward E. Moore in 1927 with the backing of Mayor George E. Cryer and political boss Kent Parrot, but was quickly enveloped in controversy over his support of a massive Slauson Avenue storm drain project.

Petitioners for a recall election charged him with ignoring the wishes of his constituents opposed to the project, which affected some 30,000 property owners and for which they would be taxed.

Afterward, a new electoral possibility opened for Rice-Wray, the transfer of the 11th District from Downtown to the coast region, including Venice and Palms.