The measure called for issuing $25 million in bonds, the proceeds of which would be used by the state government to purchase land and resell it to veterans of World War II at 3% interest on 40 year loans.
[1] The scandal was unveiled in November 1954 when reporter Ken Towery, then managing editor of the Cuero Record, published the results of his investigation of a tip that prominent Cuero-area businessmen were entertaining local Hispanic and African-American laborers, an unheard of thing in South Texas at this time.
Struck by the fact that Giles had defended himself before even being accused of anything, Towrey ran with the story, accelerating an investigation begun the previous year by the state attorney general, John Ben Shepperd.
Governor Allan Shivers and John Ben Sheppard, as ex officio members of the Veterans Land Board, were tainted by the scandal.
Ralph Yarborough and his allies in the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party pointed to the scandal as an example of the kind of corruption that the conservative Shivercrats were willing to overlook.