Representative Arthur Blythe Rouse

Arthur Blyth Rouse (June 20, 1874 – January 25, 1956) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Kentucky who served eight consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1927. Born in Burlington, Boone County, Kentucky, he was raised in northern Kentucky and attended the local public schools. He graduated from Boone County High School before pursuing higher education out of state, reflecting both academic ambition and the mobility typical of aspiring professionals of his era.

Rouse continued his education at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1896. Seeking a career in law, he then enrolled in the Louisville Law School in Louisville, Kentucky, and completed his legal studies there in 1900. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in his hometown of Burlington. His early legal career coincided with his growing involvement in Democratic Party politics at the state level, laying the groundwork for his later congressional service.

By the early twentieth century, Rouse had become an active figure in Kentucky Democratic politics. He served as a member of the Democratic State executive committee from 1903 to 1910, a role that placed him at the center of party organization and strategy in the state. In 1907 he was appointed the first secretary of the Kentucky State Racing Commission, an influential body in a state where horse racing was both culturally and economically significant. He held that position for four years, further enhancing his public profile. During this period he also gained experience in the federal legislative sphere by serving as secretary to Representatives Daniel Linn Gooch and Joseph L. Rhinock, positions that familiarized him with the workings of Congress and the needs of Kentucky’s constituencies.

Rouse’s growing political experience and party service led to his election to Congress. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-second and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1927. His sixteen years in the House of Representatives spanned a significant period in American history, including the Progressive Era, World War I, and the early 1920s. During these eight terms in office, he contributed to the legislative process, participated in the democratic governance of the nation, and represented the interests of his Kentucky constituents in national debates. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1926, choosing to conclude his congressional career at the end of the Sixty-ninth Congress.

In addition to his work as a legislator, Rouse held important responsibilities within the national party apparatus. He served as chairman of the Democratic National Congressional Committee from 1921 until his resignation from that post in December 1924. In this capacity he was involved in coordinating Democratic congressional campaigns and shaping the party’s electoral strategy during a period of Republican dominance at the national level. His leadership role in the committee underscored his standing within the Democratic Party beyond his home state.

After leaving Congress in 1927, Rouse resumed the practice of law, this time in Erlanger, Kentucky, in the northern part of the state. He also entered the transportation business, operating several bus companies, including an enterprise known as Dixie Traction. His post-congressional career thus combined legal practice with entrepreneurial activity in a growing sector of regional commerce, reflecting the broader expansion of motorized public transportation in the interwar years.

Rouse returned to federal service in a judicial capacity in the mid-1930s. On October 8, 1935, he was appointed clerk of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He held this administrative and record-keeping position for more than seventeen years, serving until January 1953, when he resigned due to ill health. Arthur Blyth Rouse died in Lexington, Kentucky, on January 25, 1956. He was interred at Lexington Cemetery, closing a life marked by long service to his state and to the federal government in legislative, party, and judicial-administrative roles.