Representative Harry Nelson Routzohn

Harry Nelson Routzohn (November 4, 1881 – April 14, 1953) was an American attorney, jurist, and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio, serving one term in Congress from 1939 to 1941. Over the course of his career he was active in the legal profession and public service, and he represented his Ohio constituents in the national legislature during a significant period in American history on the eve of the United States’ entry into World War II.

Routzohn pursued a legal career and established himself as an attorney and jurist in Ohio before entering national politics. Trained in the law, he gained experience in judicial and legal matters that informed his later work as a legislator. His professional background as an attorney and jurist provided him with familiarity with statutory interpretation, judicial procedure, and the practical operation of courts and administrative bodies, experience that he brought to his role in Congress.

Elected as a Republican, Routzohn entered the Seventy-sixth Congress and served as a Representative from Ohio from 1939 to 1941. During his single term in the House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process at a time when the federal government was grappling with the later years of the Great Depression and the mounting international tensions that preceded World War II. As a member of the House, he took part in debates, committee work, and votes that shaped national policy, and he represented the interests and concerns of his Ohio constituents within the broader framework of federal governance.

Routzohn’s congressional service coincided with important public events in his home state. In August 1940, while still in office, the Hon. Harry N. Routzohn was one of the speakers at the dedication of the Wilbur and Orville Wright Memorial at Dayton, Ohio, an occasion that commemorated the pioneering achievements of the Wright brothers in aviation. His participation in this ceremony reflected both his prominence as a public official from Ohio and his engagement with civic and historical commemorations in the region he represented.

During his term, Routzohn also became associated with contemporary debates over administrative and industrial policy. In a widely noted comment reflecting his views on the qualifications of certain federal personnel, he criticized the use of young women as reviewing attorneys for a federal board, remarking that “those girls who are acting as reviewing attorneys for the Board are fine young ladies … but the chances are 99 out of 100 that none of them ever changed a diaper, hung a washing, or baked a loaf of bread. None of them has had any judicial or industrial experience to qualify her for the job they are trying to do, and yet here they are — after all — good looking, intelligent appearing as they may be, and well groomed all of them, writing the opinions on which the jobs of hundreds of thousands of men depend and upon which the success or failure of an industrial enterprise may depend and we stand for it.” The statement illustrated his skepticism about the administrative expertise of some federal staff and his concern about the impact of their decisions on industry and employment.

Routzohn sought to continue his service in Congress but was defeated for a second term in the elections of November 1940. His tenure in the House thus concluded with the end of the Seventy-sixth Congress in January 1941. Although his time in national office was limited to a single term, he remained part of the broader cohort of Ohio Republicans who participated in federal policymaking during a transformative era in American political and economic life.

After leaving Congress, Routzohn returned to private life and to the legal and civic activities that had characterized his earlier career. He continued to be remembered as an attorney and jurist who had briefly served in the national legislature and had taken part in both the routine and ceremonial duties of a member of Congress. Harry Nelson Routzohn died on April 14, 1953, closing a career that combined legal practice, judicial experience, and a term of service in the United States House of Representatives representing the state of Ohio.