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The record of Senator James Eli ("Jim") Watson of Indiana is as follows:
Born: Winchester, Ind., Nov. 2, 1864. Career: Son of a country lawyer, he was educated at DePauw University where he played baseball, got his A.B. in 1886. Admitted to the Indiana bar next year, he began practice with his father. In 1892 he married Flora Miller who bore him three sons, one daughter. He removed to Rushville (pop. 5,709) in 1893 where he has made his home ever since. He joined the Elks, made lodge speeches and friends, drifted into politics. In 1894 he was first elected to the House of Representatives where with one interruption he served for a dozen years. He learned political strategy under Speaker Joseph Gurney (''Uncle Joe'') Cannon who made him a trusted henchman. In 1908 he stepped out of the House to be beaten for the Indiana governorship by Thomas Riley Marshall, later Democratic vice president. Politically jobless, he reverted to law, became a lobbyist for the American Manufacturers Association. In 1913 the House investigators of the A. M. A. lobby publicly flayed him for capitalizing on his personal Congressional contacts. Laughing off a scandal which would have buried a less brazen politician, he wriggled into the Senate in 1916 when Indiana's Benjamin Shively suddenly died. There as an Old Guardsman he has served continuously since. Twice he defeated the late Thomas Taggart, Indiana's Democratic boss, to hold his seat. For political support he has shrewdly ridden every popular wind, from the Anti-Saloon League to the Ku Klux Klan which has blown over the Indiana electorate. A fixture at most G. O. P. national conventions since 1912, he passively hoped for the presidential nomination in 1920 and again in 1924, was Indiana's favorite son against Herbert Hoover in 1928.
In Congress: Because they liked him personally, Republican Senators in 1929 chose him as their floor leader when Charles Curtis vacated that difficult job for the easier vice presidency. But he led only a nominal party majority which insurgent bolters repeatedly turned into a voting minority. Officially the President's spokesman in the Senate, he has eaten many a breakfast at the White House but rarely rises to defend Herbert Hoover from partisan attack. Privately criticized for failing to back up his chief, he was once reported to have snorted: ''How can you stand behind a man with St. Vitus's dance? A G. O. Politician to the core, he is forever busy with local matters—jobs for the faithful, greater use of Indiana limestone in public buildings, retention of the post office name at Santa Claus, Ind.
He voted for: Tariff (1922, 1930). Restrictive Immigration (1924), 15-cruiser bill (1928), Equalization Fee (1928), Boulder Dam (1928), Jones (Five & Ten) Act (1929), Reapportionment (1929), London Naval Treaty (1930), Debt Moratorium (1931), R. F. C. (1932), Labor's Anti-injunction bill (1932), billion-dollar naval building bill (1932), Sales Tax (1932), Revenue Act (1932).
He voted against: Tax reduction (1924), World Court (1920), Farm Board (1929), Muscle Shoals (1931), Beer (1932), Garner relief bill (1932), Wartime income taxes (1932), Bonus (1932).
He has always voted Dry, now stands for Resubmission. He has never been a heavy drinker.