Houston was a stage actor, then at the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was part of President Woodrow Wilson's honor guard, and also served as a guard at the State, War and Navy Building in Washington, DC. For a few months he was the military orderly for Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. After the war, he managed his father's lumber business, and became involved in politics. He served 2 terms as mayor of Newton KS; later he was a Congressman and served on the House Committee on Appropriations. On March 5, 1943, President Roosevelt appointed him to the National Labor Relations Board, from which he retired in 1953.