Ralph Henderson Scott (December 12, 1903 – April 2, 1989) was an American politician and businessman.
Early life
Ralph Scott was born on December 12, 1903, near Haw River, North Carolina, United States to Robert Walter Scott and Elizabeth Jessie Hughes Scott. He was the 11th of 14 children. In his youth Scott worked on his father's farm and participated in The Corn Club, a predecessor to 4-H.
Scott attended North Carolina State College. In 1923 he acted as captain of the college's cross country team, which won the state championship. When later asked by a journalist why he participated in the sport, he said, "I heard you got better food if you got to the training table. That was the only reason I went out." He graduated in 1924. He married Hazeleene Tate the following year and had three children with her.
Business career
In 1927 Scott created Melville Dairy, a milk delivery business based out of a small building on his brother Henry's farm. For the first few years he acted as his company's sole deliveryman while his wife managed its finances. He worked seven days a week, using a Ford Model A to pick up milk from farmers in the mornings before parking in downtown Burlington to make his deliveries on foot. He moved his business to a modern building in Burlington in 1935. In 1967 he sold Melville Dairy to Guilford Dairy, a company cofounded by his brother W. Kerr Scott. He also created a company that manufactured plastic containers and processed aerosol cream, and he served on the boards of directors of an insurance firm, a savings and loan association, and a textile mill. In his later life he turned over management of the plastic and aerosol cream company to two of his sons.
Political career
A devout Christian, Scott's religious beliefs underpinned his political philosophies in support of poor and disabled people. He served on the Alamance County Board of Commissioners from 1944 to 1950. In 1948 while his brother, Kerr Scott, was mulling his chances of running for the office of Governor of North Carolina, Ralph investigated the potential of his candidacy. Kerr was later elected governor, and during his term he would travel back to Alamance County on weekends and discuss politics with Ralph.
Scott won election to a seat representing Alamance and Orange counties in the North Carolina Senate in 1950. Once sworn-in to the Senate in 1951, Scott moved into the Executive Mansion in Raleigh and would visit Alamance County on the weekends with Kerr. Lieutenant Governor Hoyt Patrick Taylor, the presiding officer of the Senate, sent Scott a letter asking for his desired committee assignments. Scott asked to be appointed to committees where he could best aide his brother's agenda, and in response Taylor made him chair of the Penal Institutions Committee. In 1953 Scott introduced a ultimately successfully bill which created the Milk Commission to fix prices of milk to support independent dairy farmers. When visiting his home district on weekends, he often met with constituents to hear their requests and worked to secure government favors upon them, including jobs, paroles, or the paving of roads. After hearing about the problems of a mentally disabled child in his district, he became a leading advocate for mentally disabled children and secured funding for special education. During his time in the Senate he befriended one-term Senator Terry Sanford, and recommended that his brother Kerr tap him as his campaign manager for his 1954 U.S. Senate bid. Kerr won election but died in office, and afterwards Kerr's annual social and political dove hunting gathering was hosted by Ralph on his own farm.
Scott did not seek reelection in 1956 per an agreement to allow the Senate seat he occupied to be filled by an Orange County denizen. After hearing rumors that U.S. Representative Carl T. Durham would retire from his seat in North Carolina's 6th congressional district, Scott declared his candidacy in the Democratic primary. Durham pursued reelection and defeated Scott.
In 1960 Scott was reelected to his Senate seat and supported Sanford's successful campaign to become governor. He supported Sanford's agenda in the legislature, and Sanford appointed him to the Advisory Budget Commission, a body which helped coordinate budget proposals between the executive and legislative branches. Scott frequently visited the governor in his office.