Mann, James

Mann, James (Robert)

(1856–1922) U.S. representative; born in Bloomington, Ill. A successful attorney from Chicago, he was a Republican congressman (1897–22), skilled in legislation and parliamentary tactics, a protégé of Joseph Cannon. Among the acts he sponsored are the Mann-Elkins Act, which regulated railroad rates, the Pure Food and Drugs Act (1906), and the Mann Act to prohibit transporting minors across state lines. As minority leader (1912–18), he successfully impeded Democratic legislation, but never became Speaker.