Oral History Interview with David Allred, August 9, 1967 Page: 13
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Allred
13
I had much the same feeling that here was a chance to put some
of my ideas to work and perhaps to be able to influence the trend
of government. Because our government is not a static thing--despite
the fact many people try to make it so. I felt I had a chance to
influence the trend of government toward what I felt was the best
course for the state of Texas to take. Of course, one member of
the House is not going to influence the state a whole lot, but you
can do it to a certain extent and certainly you can do more than
most private citizens. One of the strengths of our government, I
think, is the fact that it is flexible and is able to change through
court interpretations, through changes in laws, and so forth. I
don't hold with the traditionalist view that our forefathers set
up of government and by jing we ought to just stick right with exactly
every jot and tittle of what they said. What they said is in the
eye of the beholder anyway. It depends on his interpretation.
Also, our forefathers certainly did not anticipate a world of atomic
bombs, jet liners, and so forth. And I think the thing that has
kept our government as good as it is, and it's the greatest govern-
ment on the face of this earth, is the fact that it's been able to
change within its framework.
In the legislature, when I got down there, I found that there
were definitely people or a group in charge, which I had sort of
expected. In this case, as it usually is, about 90 per cent of the
time, it was the Speaker and his group who were in charge. The
Speaker is elected by the membership and Barnes is a very sharp,shrewd individual and ran the House pretty well. But in any event,
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Marcello, Ronald E.; Kamp, H. W. & Allred, David. Oral History Interview with David Allred, August 9, 1967, book, November 20, 1968; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth223569/m1/14/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Oral History Program.