the Houston Chronicle from Marcellus Elliot Foster in August 1906. Though Foster was the paper's editor, Jones's engagement in the paper's positions was evident by the letters between the two men. For example, Jones supported Foster's public opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, which had been a growing movement in Texas after World War I. Foster stressed his editorial independence, while Jones vowed that he was willing to risk financial loss and personal safety to side against the KKK. This relationship became strained in 1925 when Jones voiced his opposition to Foster's support of Miriam Ferguson for governor of Texas. They were in agreement with her strong stance against the Klan, but Jones refused to support her candidacy because of the corruption of her husband during his tenure as governor. In 1926, Jones became the sole owner of the Houston Chronicle and named himself as publisher. At the time of the purchase, the paper had a daily readership of 75,000 and the company was valued at $2.5 million (). When Jones opened the Gulf Building in Houston, his ownership of the Houston Chronicle facilitated publication of a 48-page special insert dedicated to his new skyscraper. In March 1930, Jones acquired a radio station and began broadcasting in Houston from the Rice Hotel. The call letters of the station, KTRH, used three letters as an acronym for The Rice Hotel. KTRH broadcast some content of the Columbia Broadcasting System, making it the second radio station in Houston to air national programs. Jones established the station to support the Houston Chronicle, which had already seen the Houston Post establish a radio affiliate, KPRC. Political activities Houston Ship Channel Jones helped to secure funding for the Houston Ship Channel. When bond sales for the Harris County Houston Ship Channel District lagged, he met with Houston bankers and extracted a pledge from each one to buy the district's bonds proportionate to their market capitalizations. He was appointed as chair of the new Houston Harbor Board in 1913 by Mayor Ben Campbell. Jones accepted this post after rejecting several offers from the Woodrow Wilson Administration the same year. Edward Mandell House, who advocated Wilson's nomination for the Democratic Party the previous year, suggested Jones for service to the new US President. The Wilson Administration offered positions to Jones such as the Undersecretary of the Treasury, two ambassadorships, and most notably, Secretary of Commerce. Jones confronted