James J. Couzens

James J. Couzens ( born August 26, 1872 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, † October 22, 1936 in Detroit, Michigan) was an American businessman, politician of the Republican Party and both mayor of Detroit and longtime senator for Michigan.

Biography

Couzens was one of the founders in 1903 of Ford and was until 1919 worked in the Ford Motor Company.

At the same time he first began a career in local government in Detroit and was initially 1913-1915 Commissioner for the trams ( Commissioner of Street Railways ). Subsequently, he was 1916-1918 president of the city police (Police Commissioner). After that, he was finally himself mayor ( Mayor ) of Detroit and has held this office from 1919 to 1922.

On November 29, 1922, he was appointed U.S. senator to finish the term of office of Truman Handy Newberry, who had previously resigned over allegation of fraud on 18 November 1922.

Was on his initiative from 1924 through 1926, the formation of a Joint Committee of Taxation of the U.S. Congress (United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation ) by the Revenue Act of 1926. At that time there were numerous reports of inefficiency and waste within the authority, as there have been numerous allegations that the method of tax refunds would offer numerous incentives for bribery of tax officials. One of the key tasks that should investigate the then Committee, was the estimate of the value of oil rigs - there seemed to be no system, no coherence and apparently no competent supervision of the process that took place at that time. After the senator had in 1925 publicly accused the Bureau, the state withhold millions of tax dollars by the preferential treatment of large companies, precisely that Bureau informed him shortly afterwards with him to nachbezahlen $ 10 million in personal taxes.

During his membership in the U.S. Senate, he was also from 1926 to 1929 Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Labor ( U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor ). After that, he was 1928-1933 Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce ( U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce ).

Couzens ran successfully several times as a representative of the Republicans for reelection and thus belonged to the Senate of the United States as the owner of the second Senate seat ( Senator Class 2) from Michigan until his death on. However, he was defeated in the Republican primary for the Senate election in 1936 his internal party challenger Wilber Marion Brucker, a former governor of Michigan.

His son Frank Couzens was 1933 and 1934 to 1938 also mayor of Detroit.