Clemens J. France

Clemens J. France
Born
Clemens James France

(1877-01-22)January 22, 1877
DiedJune 9, 1959(1959-06-09) (aged 82)
Sebec Lake, Maine
Alma materBaltimore Law School
Occupation(s)Lawyer, politician
Years active1908–1953
Employer(s)State Department of Social Welfare of Rhode Island, Director (1936–1948)
Organization(s)Municipal League of Seattle, Founder
Committee to Aid Constitutional Challenges of the McCarran Act, Chairman
Political partyFarmer-Labor Party
Other political
affiliations
Progressive Party
Board member ofAmerican Committee for Relief in Ireland
Spouse
Annie Lapham
(m. 1906)
Children2
Parents
  • Reverend Joseph H. France (father)
  • Hannah Fletcher James (mother)
FamilyJoseph I. France (brother)

Clemens James France (22 January 1877 – 9 June 1959) was a labor lawyer, third-party election candidate in Washington (1920) and Rhode Island (1948), and social security advocate. A member of the American Committee for Relief in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence, France contributed to the drafting of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State. As Director of the State Department of Social Welfare of Rhode Island (1936–48), he oversaw the development of a comprehensive social security program. In later years, France contributed to a range of civil liberty causes during the McCarthyist period of the 1950s.