Born in Glamorganshire, Wales, the 12th of 13 children, Mason immigrated to the United States in 1888 with his parents, who settled in La Salle, Illinois; his father was a coal miner and then a farmer.

He also favored higher tariffs to protect American business and workers, a position that was increasingly unsupported by the wider Republican Party.

He criticised New Dealers, such as Eveline Burns, Henry A. Wallace, Adolph A. Berle, Jr., and Paul Porter, as socialists.

[6] During the Eisenhower administration, while praising the Republican president, he opposed substantially all his initiatives, including statehood for Hawaii, and he supported Senator Pat McCarran in sharply restricting immigration to the US.

Conservatism portal This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress