Moss, Frank Edward (“Ted”)

(b. 23 September 1911 in Salt Lake City, Utah; d. 29 January 2003 in Salt Lake City, Utah), lawyer and longtime Democratic senator from Utah (1959–1977) who championed civil rights and care for the elderly.

Moss was one of seven children born to James E. Moss and Maud (Nixon) Moss. Educated in Utah’s public schools, Moss gained an interest in politics and in Utah history. He attended the University of Utah from 1929 to 1933 and graduated magna cum laude with a BA. During the Depression he supported himself with a variety of jobs. As soon as he graduated from college, he prepared for law school. However, he decided to get married before pursuing additional education.

On 20 June 1934 Moss married Phyllis Hart, a fellow University of Utah student, in the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They became the parents of four children. Shortly after their marriage, Moss and his wife moved to Washington, D.C., where Moss had been accepted at George Washington University Law School. Moss graduated with a JD in 1937. He began his professional career at the new Securities and Exchange Commission, the New Deal agency created to control the stock market. He gained an appreciation for the role of the federal government and the necessity of regulation. He befriended other prominent Utahans, such as Marriner Eccles, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Robert Hinckley, head of the Civil Aeronautics Board. An active Democrat, Moss always idolized both the style and accomplishments of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. After a short tenure with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Moss decided to return to Utah, where he successfully sought election as a city judge in 1940. He served in that position, although interrupted by service in World War II, until 1950.

When World War II began Moss joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a lawyer and served in Europe, primarily in England, until the end of the war. After the war he remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, eventually retiring as a colonel. Like many of his generation, Moss viewed World War II service as a necessity and never utilized his experience politically. Following the war he returned to Salt Lake City and his judgeship, which he held until 1950. The Salt Lake County Democratic Party convinced him to seek election as the Salt Lake County attorney. He easily won the seat and held the position until 1958 (some sources say 1959).

The Democrats of Utah were eager to win one of the Senate seats, and Moss had never lost an election. After careful consideration with his family, Moss decided to challenge the incumbent senator Arthur V. Watkins (Republican) for his Senate seat. Watkins had chaired the committee that voted to censure Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, upsetting many Republicans. Consequently, Watkins was challenged by the former governor J. Bracken Lee in the Republican primary. When Lee lost that election, he decided to run in the final election as an independent. Moss handily won the three-way race, but he seemed vulnerable six years later. However, 1964 was the time a Democrat won Utah’s electoral votes, and Moss easily won reelection. His longtime friend Calvin Rampton won the governorship.

Reelected in 1970, Moss became widely respected for his integrity, compassion, and loyalty. He rose to become the secretary of the Democratic Caucus. Utah was well served during his tenure. In reality he was a great “errand boy senator” who knew how to work for jobs and projects for his native state. During his entire career, the Democrats controlled the Senate. He served on committees that helped the state, such as the Interior Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the select Committee on Aging. His positions also influenced national politics. Since over two-thirds of Utah is public land, Moss became an advocate of conservation and preservation. His Senate career was distinguished by his devotion to environmental legislation, including sponsoring legislation to create three national parks in Utah—Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef. He also fought for air and water quality and cosponsored both the Wilderness Act (1964) and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Bill (1968). Often overshadowed by others, Moss distinguished himself by his consistent advocacy of environmental awareness. Mining and grazing interests actually supported him because of his capacity to explain his view of the greater good.

Moss won high praise for his health-care advocacy, which included legislation that banned cigarette advertising on television, created Medicare, and expanded state-sponsored Medicaid programs. One of his areas of great concern was Medicare and Medicaid fraud. As senator he repeatedly conducted hearings that exposed fraudulent activities, even once posing as a Medicaid patient in order to document fraud. A powerful advocate of consumer rights, Moss worked with his fellow Utahan Esther Petersen to create watchdog agencies to protect against false and misleading advertising. He sponsored legislation to enable an inspector general in the Department of Health and Human Services to prosecute consumer fraud, especially in medical care of the elderly.

Moss consistently voted for any expansion of civil, human, women’s, and disability rights. Although taking a stance not necessarily popular in Utah, Moss believed that any assistance to those excluded from the mainstream of American economic or political life would produce long-term benefits. He cosponsored the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the equal rights amendment. Once again, these were not great issues for his constituents. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Moss also worked diligently while in office to help the church in a variety of ways, especially on international issues. However, he finally focused on the plight of the elderly in the United States as his primary cause. Once again he sponsored legislation that would provide better care for the elderly. He also kept a vigilant eye on abuses within nursing homes and in administration of medicines.

Although Moss knew that the Republican Party’s power in Utah was on the rise, he decided to seek a fourth term in 1976. When his own party tried to keep him from being a delegate to the national convention in 1972, Moss belatedly came out against the Vietnam War. Moss and the Democrats were shocked by his defeat at the hands of Orrin Hatch, a recent transplant to Utah from Pennsylvania. Hatch attacked Moss for his long tenure and votes against the “core values” of most Utahans. Moss did not take Hatch seriously, and he lost the 1976 election by a small margin.

Unlike many defeated politicians, Moss returned to the state that elected him, graciously devoting the remainder of his life to service. His legislative experience enabled him to join Val and Bill Halamandaris in creating the Caring Institute, which was dedicated to the concept of care and public service. But perhaps his most lasting legacy was his deep concern for the plight of the elderly. He became chairman (some sources say senior counsel) of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. Moss literally dedicated his entire life to public service. He said, “Whether for the individual or the nation, self is best served by transcending self.”

In 1990 the impressive new federal courthouse in Salt Lake City was named in Moss’s honor. He died of pneumonia at the age of ninety-one and is buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery in Salt Lake City.

Moss’s papers are deposited in the University of Utah Special Collections. Obituaries are in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post (all 31 Jan. 2003).

F. Ross Peterson