NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 08230958 8
OF WASHINGTON
EDMOND S. MEANT
Me
GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
Territorial and State
By EDMOND S. MEANY
Professor of History
University of Washington
SEATTLE
DEPARTMENT OF PRINTING, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
1915
THE NEW YO
PUBLIC LI? Y
341930A
*OX AND
DEN , NDA1 LuNS
R 19^7 L
THIS BOOK IS PRINTED FROM TYPE IN A
LIMITED EDITION, OF WHICH
THIS IS NUMBER
I
.
TO
SCOTT C. BONE
Who is Advancing the Cause of History
PREFACE
An Italian economist has said that a colony is
to history what a mountain is to geology: it
brings past forms to view. The commonwealth
of Washington is a colony of the American Un-
ion. With greatly accelerated speed it has passed
through the log-cabin, Indian war, and other ex-
periences of the older colonies. On account of
that speed it is possible here for those of the
present cosmopolitan generation to glean from
living witnesses information about those who
wrought upon the foundations in the wilderness.
In this spirit these essays on the Governors of
Washington have been prepared.
The brief biographies should be an inspira-
tion for western youth. Nearly every one of the
governors achieved the high station from a hum-
ble beginning. The qualities that have counted
most are industry, perseverance, honesty and
courage.
Of the twenty-two governors, the youngest at
the time of inauguration was Gov. Stevens, 35
years of age, and the oldest was Gov. Pickering,
who was 64. The average age at inauguration
was 48 years. The birthplaces of the govern-
ors were widely scattered. Four were born in
Ohio, three in New York, two in Maine, two in
England, and one each in Germany, United States
of Colombia, Massachusetts, Virginia, Kentucky,
New Hampshire, Michigan, Utah, Kansas and
Wisconsin.
Acknowledgment is gladly given the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer for its publication of the es-
says on its editorial page. The type used in the
original publication was kindly saved that the
vi IMiEFArr,
biographies might appear again in this more
permanent form.
During the governorship of Albert E. Mead,
his secretary, Ashmun N. Brown, gave much time
to a collection of portraits of all the men who
had served as governors. So far as known to
the present writer, the only uniform series of
plates from that collection of portraits was
made by The Geographical Publishing Company
of Chicago. Acknowledgment is here made of
the kindness of that company in supplying elec-
troplates of the series for this publication.
I wish also to publicly thank Professor J.
Franklin Jameson, Director of the Department of
Historical Research of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, for a careful search in the Library
of Congress and other sources of information at
the National Capital, especially in the baffling
case of Governor Richard D. Gholson.
Edmond S. Meany
University of Washington
Seattle, October 30, 1915.
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction 1
TERRITORIAL GOVERNORS
NO. I. ISAAC INGALLS STEVENS 5
NO. II. FAYETTE McMULLIN 11
NO. III. RICHARD D. GHOLSON 17
NO. IV. WILLIAM H. WALLACE 23
NO. V. WILLIAM PICKERING 27
NO. VI. GEORGE E. COLE 31
NO. VII. MARSHALL F. MOORE 35
NO. VIII. ALVAN FLANDERS 39
NO. IX. EDWARD S. SALOMON 43
NO. X. ELISHA PEYRE FERRY 47
NO. XL WILLIAM AUGUSTUS NEWELL 53
NO. XII. WATSON CARVOSSO SQUIRE 59
NO. XIII. EUGENE SEMPLE 65
NO. XIV. MILES CONWAY MOORE 71
STATE GOVERNORS
NO. XV. ELISHA PEYRE FERRY 75
NO. XVI. JOHN HARTE McGRAW 79
NO. XVII. JOHN RANKIN ROGERS 85
NO. XVIII. HENRY McBRIDE 91
NO. XIX. ALBERT EDWARD MEAD 95
NO. XX. SAMUEL GOODLOVE COSGROVE 99
NO. XXL MARION E. HAY 105
NO. XXII. ERNEST LISTER Ill
GREAT SEAL OF THE TERRITORY
GREAT SEAL OF THE TERRITORY
GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
INTRODUCTION
In a series of brief biographical articles the
careers of the men who have exercised the chief
executive power in this commonwealth are to be
traced from day to day in the Post-Intelligencer.*
The Astoria settlement of 1811 was too brief for
the Americans to establish at that time even the
rudiments of government in the Pacific Northwest.
The British who followed, first with the Northwest
Company of Montreal and later with the Hudson's
Bay Company, established a rude sort of rule which
became the first form of government during the
years of joint occupancy by British and Americans.
During this time Dr. John McLoughlin, chief factor
of the Hudson's Bay Company, became the real
executive. The British fur hunters increased in
number, while the Astoria Americans disappeared.
American missionaries began to arrive in 1834 and
inside of ten years they were followed by American
fur hunters and pioneer settlers. These objected
to the rule of the Hudson's Bay Company and the
result was the provisional government of Oregon.
While it was intended that this government should
be jointly British and American, the American influ-
ence dominated. The land thus ruled extended from
the forty-second parallel of north latitude (fixed in
the Florida purchase treaty of 1819) to 54 degrees
and 40 minutes (fixed in the American and British
treaties with Russia in 1824 and 1825, respectively).
The provisional government provided that the
executive power should rest in a committee of three,
The first executive committee consisted of David
Hill, Alanson Beers and Joseph Gale. The oath of
office then taken is interesting:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support the
organic laws of the provisional government of Ore-
gon, so far as the said organic laws are consistent
* The articles appeared in the week-day issues of that paper from Sep-
tember 27 to October 22, 1915.
(1)
Gnvi-:i:N(.)i:s <>F WASHINGTON
\vitli my duties MS M eiti/.en of tlie Uniti-il States, m- a
subject of Great Britain, and faithfully demean my-
self in office. S> help me God."
The big immigration of Americans in 1843 can.-.
a reorganization of the provisional government. on
the second Tuesday of May, 1844, the new executive
committee was chosen: W. J. Bailey, Osborne Kusseii
and P. G. Stewart. These men ruled for a. little over
one year, when a further reorganization plac.-d
George Abernathy in power as governor of the pro-
visional government of Oregon. Calm, sensible and
honest, he was allowed to rule until the two noun-
governments framed the treaty of 1846, fixing the
northern boundary along the forty-ninth parallel ol
north latitude. Congress was slow to act even then
and Gov. Abernathy continued in power until 184'J.
In 1848 congress enacted the organic law cre-
ating the territory of Oregon. The first governor-
ship was offered to Abraham Lincoln, but he de-
clined it. The position was accepted by Gen. Joseph
Lane, a hero of the Mexican war, who became a
conspicuous figure in the history of the Pacific
Northwest. His domain extended from the Rocky
mountains to the Pacific ocean, between the forty-
second and forty-ninth parallels of north latitude.
He arrived in Oregon in 1849, but by May 1, 1850, he
was removed on account of political troubles. In
1S51 he was called back from his California mines
to be elected delegate to congress from Oregon ter-
ritory.
The governor's office was vacant from May 1 to
August 15, 1850, when Gen. John P. Gaines arrived as
the new executive. His rule was troubled with polit-
ical opposition, until Gen. Lane was once more ap-
pointed. It was a part of his campaign for re-elec-
tion to congress. He arrived in Oregon as governor
on May 16, 1853, and in three days resigned to run
for his old place as delegate to congress. His name
had before that appeared at the head of the Demo-
cratic ticket. He was elected and the governorship
went to John W. Davis, of Indiana.
All these men, except the last named, had the
future territory and state of Washington within the
vast region they governed, until March 2, 1853, when
congress created the territory of Washington. As
the proposed series of articles will deal with the
governors of Washington, this introductory sketch
will suffice to indicate what executive authority was
exercised prior to the creation of the new common-
wealth.
ISAAC INGALLS STEVENS
ISAAC I. STEVENS
First Territorial Governor
1853 to 1857
NO. I. ISAAC INGALLS STEVENS
Maj. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens was killed while lead-
ing his troops in a desperate charge at the critical
battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862. He had
only attained the age of 44 years and yet he had
rounded out a remarkably eventful career. En-
dowed with a keen intellect, untiring industry and
lofty ideals of civic duty, he made the hours of his
life count for their full value.
He was born near Andover, Mass., March 25, 1818,
and was reared in a frugal home on a farm where
there was little promise of an education, until his
appointment as a cadet to West Point in 1835. His
industry and ambition w'ere rewarded by graduation
as first in the class of 1839. This rank at graduation
put him in the engineering corps of the United States
army. There he served with distinction, building a
number of fortifications along the Atlantic coast.
When the Mexican war broke out he sought
and obtained active service. He took part in many
of the principal battles, was three times promoted
by brevet for meritorious conduct and was severely
wounded at the taking of the City of Mexico. At
the conclusion of that war, in 1848, he resumed the
work of building fortifications in New England until
September 14, 1849, when he was given charge of
the United States coast survey.
After the famous compromise of 1850, Stevens
shared the prevalent idea of that time that the
slavery question was settled. He wrote home that
the chance of a soldier's career in America had dis-
appeared and he would therefore enter civilian life
by accepting the first governorship of the territory
of Washington. The law creating the new territory
was passed by congress on March 2, 1853, and signed
by President Fillmore just before his term of office
ended. President Pierce offered the governorship to
Stevens soon after he was himself inaugurated, and
Stevens accepted it on March 17.
Again were the high qualities of his character
manifested. He called attention to the fact that he
had been educated as an engineer as well as a sol-
dier. Congress had arranged to survey possible
routes for railroads across the continent. Stevens
asked for supervision of a part of that work and
(5)
GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
was L;iven charge of the snrxey of tlie northern
route. At the same time he asked to be :i ppoi n t ed
superintendent of Indian affairs of the territory of
\Yashington and that work was also liiv.-n to him.
He prosecuted the railroad survey with vigor
and skill, demonstrating the entire (Vasibilit y of
constructing a railroad from the head of naviga
tion on the Mississippi river to tide water on Puget
sound. Subsequent surveyors and builders of the
railroads have expressed wonder at the accuracy
of the pioneer work by the Stevens party. When the
reports of those surveys were published the volumes
were found to be filled with information about the
climate, soil, plants, animals, Indians, geology,
zoology and history of the region through which the
proposed railroad would pass. That work and the
books recording it would constitute a sufficient
monument for an ordinarily active life.
Arriving in the new territory the governor se-
lected Olympia as the temporary capital, called for
the election of a legislature and set in motion the
wheels of government. When the legislature as-
sembled he presented his first gubernatorial mes-
sage. It is one of the finest state papers in the
history of the commonwealth. He had a prophetic
vision of the prominence to be achieved by the terri-
tory and state. He called upon the legislators to
build carefully the foundations. They responded
nobly to his leadership.
AYhile the legislature was still in session the
governor began his work as superintendent of Indian
affairs. Before he had finished, that work resulted
in ten treaties with the Indians. Years passed before
all the treaties were ratified by the United States
senate, but that was finally -done and the Indian
title was quieted to 100,000 square miles of territory.
There seems a paradox in the fact that as the treaties
were being made, Indian wars broke out on both
sides of the Cascade mountains. Gov. Stevens
promptly assumed command of the volunteer troops
and fought the wars of 1855-56 to a conclusion.
Politics entered the volunteer soldiers' ranks and
a singular situation was developed in the legislative
session of 1857. The governor's great work in behalf
of a railroad was recognized by giving his name
prominence among the proposed directors in the
charter of a "Northern Pacific railroad." But the
same legislators adopted a vote of censure against
ISAAC INGALLS STEVENS 7
the governor on account of an unfortunate disagree-
ment as to authority over the Seattle company in the
Indian war.
The people of the territory resented that censure.
The next legislature expunged the resolutions from
the record. The governor was nominated for pro-
motion to the position of delegate to congress and
was elected by a two to one vote. He was re-
elected, and during his two terms in congress he
manifested the same energy that characterized his
whole life. He got the Indian treaties ratified, the
railroad reports published and many items of im-
portance were given attention in congress and the
various departments of government.
In the last months of his experience as delegate
to congress he manifested a high political courage.
He was chairman of the campaign committee of the
Breckinridge wing of the Democratic party and as
such did his best to win success. After Lincoln's
election, but before his inauguration, there came the
news of the government's sending arms and ammuni-
tion to Southern arsenals. Stevens went boldly to
President Buchanan and as a Democratic leader and
citizen urged the dismissal of the Southern members
of the cabinet who w'ere responsible. Stevens also
aided in the organization of the District of Columbia
militia to protect the national capital.
Soon after Fort Sumter was fired upon he volun-
teered and was made colonel of the Seventy-ninth
Highlanders, a volunteer regiment of New York.
He won rapid promotion and after Gen. Pope's defeat
at the second battle of Bull Run, Stevens was being
considered by President Lincoln as a new commander
of the Army of the Potomac. This, of course, was
ended by the death of Stevens at Chantilly during
the retreat of Pope's army from Bull Run.
During the making of the Indian treaties in
1855, Stevens was accompanied by his son Hazard,
then a boy of 13 years. During the battle of Chan-
tilly, Hazard Stevens, a member of his father's staff,
lay wounded not far from where the father met his
death. Before the war ended, Hazard Stevens had
risen to the rank of brigadier general. He is now
a highly-respected pioneer citizen of Olympia.
FAYETTE McMULLIN
FAYETTE McMULLEN
Second Territorial Governor
1857 to 1859
NO. II. FAYETTE McMULLIN
The first United States marshal of Washington
territory, J. Patton Anderson, had been elected as
the second delegate to congress in 1855. As Gov.
Stevens was elected to that position in 1857, the gov-
ernorship was given to Mr. Anderson. He did not
qualify, however, and Charles H. Mason, secretary
of the territory, became acting governor until Fay-
ette McMullin, the new appointee, qualified for the
place. To pioneer citizens the name of this second
governor of the territory brings up an unpleasant
suggestion of divorce. Bancroft's history of the state
of "Washington says: "The successor of Stevens was
Fayette McMulin, of Virginia, a politician, whose
chief object in coming to Washington seems to have
been to get rid of one wife and marry another."
Those were the clays of legislative divorces. Ar-
thur A. Denny was a leading Whig, and later a Re-
publican. Gov. McMullin was anxious to secure his
vote declaring a divorce between Mr. and Mrs. Mc-
Mullin. Mr. Denny objected. He declared his belief
that the wife should have her day in court and that
legislative divorces were unfair. In spite of Mr.
Denny's opposition the bill was passed and the
divorce completed.
In July, 1858, Gov. McMullin married Mary Wood, a
daughter of Isaac Wood, a pioneer of Thurston coun-
ty. About the time of his marriage he was removed
from office and returned with his new bride to his
old home in Virginia.
He had been governor during two big events in
the Northwest and yet he had little or no part in
them. The Fraser river gold excitement probably
affected the humblest citizens who hoped for wealth
more than it did the governor, who knew he was
only temporarily in the Far West. The other event
was Col. Steptoe's defeat by the Coeur d'Alene and
other tribes of Eastern Washington Indians. Col.
Steptoe was in the regular United States army and
Gov. McMullin had no part in directing or influ-
encing the campaign.
All this does not make a very satisfactory record
for a chief executive of a young and vigorous com-
monw'ealth. The man had not been improved by
moving from Virginia to the Pacific Northwest. At
home he had been elected to the Thirty-first, Thirty-
(11)
11' GOVKKMiiis >!' WASHINGTON
second. Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth congresses.
II. li.id e\ idently been well thought of in those days,
and :itt. r returning from Washington territory he
\\;is fleeted to the congress of the Confederate
States of America.
Gov. McMullin's service in the Confederate con-
gress was in perfect accord with the sentiment he
expressed in his one and only message to the legis-
lature of Washington territory, delivered on Decem-
ber 12, 1857. He said: "In conclusion, I will say to
you, my countrymen, that if we wish to preserve
this great and glorious Union which lias recently
been shaken to its very center, and which, I seri-
ously fear, is still in imminent danger it can only
be done by adhering to the constitution that sacred
instrument, which will be to us as a 'cloud by day
and a pillow [pillar] of fire by night.' We must, at
the same time, practice and carry out the clear and
unmistakeable doctrine of nonintervention, a doc-
trine which will and must be maintained so long as
we recognize the doctrine of a representative gov-
ernment."
In the same message he outlined ways of pro-
tection from Indian troubles, called attention to the
beginning of the famous military road from Fort
Benton to Walla Walla, and advocated the northern
route for the proposed railroad across the conti-
nent. He objected to Oregon's attempt to annex a
part of the area of Washington territory. The mes-
sage gives the impression of a governor who saw
many needs of the new commonwealth and who was
willing to co-operate in every way possible to have
those needs supplied. The territorial newspapers
published items about the governor's journey home
to Virginia, and in many of those items w'ere facts
showing that he was a consistent friend of Wash-
ington territory. He gave public expression to his
belief in its resources and attractiveness for settlers.
All of this kindly service was soon silenced by the
approach of the civil war.
He was killed by a railroad train at Wytheville,
Va., November 8, 1880. He was a native of Virginia
and was 70 years of age at the time of his death.
Mrs. McMullin, a native of Olympia, won a warm
place for herself in the hearts of her Southern neigh-
bors. When she died, in June, 1889, a Virginia news-
paper said: "Mrs. McMullin was a kind and very
charitable woman, and was a member of the Epis-
copal church, and gave evidence to her friends that
FAYETTE McMULLIN 13
she was fully prepared to meet her God. She was a
firm friend of Marion Female college made dona-
tions to it frequently, at one time giving- $1,000 and
in recognition of her interest in the college, the
board of trustees met her body at the depot and the
faculty and students of the college joined the pro-
cession and accompanied the remains to Round Hill
cemetery,"
RICHARD D. GHOLSON
No portrait of Governor Gholson has yet been
found.
NO. III. RICHARD D. GHOLSOX
Search is still being made for information about
the third governor of Washington territory, as well
as for his portrait. Thus far the search has met
with only meager results. It is known that he
came from Kentucky and arrived at Olympia in July,
1859. Charles H. Mason, secretary of the territory,
had been serving also as governor. His death about
the time that Gov. Gholson arrived made it neces-
sary for the latter to serve also as secretary until
the arrival of Henry M. McGill in November. The
new secretary was destined to render good service
as secretary and acting governor for two years just
prior to the outbreak of the civil war. In May, 1860,
Gov. Gholson returned to Kentucky on a six months'
leave of absence. During that time national affairs
had developed along such troubled lines that the
Kentuckian did not wish to return to Washington
territory and Secretary McGill continued as acting
governor.
H. H. Bancroft quotes from the San Francisco
Bulletin of August 30, 1859, and the Oregon States-
man of March 11, 1861, evidence that Gov. Gholson
wrote a letter urging the Kentucky legislature to
call a convention and send commissioners to the
Southern congress in Montgomery, Ala., to pledge
Kentucky to stand by the South in the attempt to
secede.
During the scant eleven months of his actual gov-
ernorship of the territory, two events were of prime
importance. In the same month of his arrival, or,
to be exact, on the night of July 26, 1859, American
troops under Capt. George E. Pickett were landed
on San Juan island. The dispute between Great
Britain and the United States over the possession of
the San Juan archipelago Was by that act passed to
a critical stage.
The other event was the capture by Northern In-
dians of two schooners Ellen Maria and Blue Wing
en route from Steilacoom to Port Townsend. The
crews of white men were either killed or carried
away into slavery. This occurred in February, 1859,
but the memory of it lingered on through Gov.
Gholson's administration.
Historian Bancroft quotes from a manuscript by
.Judge William Strong to the effect that Gholson had
(17)
IS GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
a m.-iLvnif icd idea of the power of an executive
that he wrote a proclamation authorizing the citi-
zens to arm themselves ,-md to fit out vessels for acts
of reprisal against the P.ritish for allowing- the In-
dians to cross the boundary with hostile purpose.
The governor showed his proclamation to Jiidg"
Strong, who said it would certainly make him the
most famous man on the Pacific coast. He then
showed the document to Surveyor General James
Tilton, who promptly persuaded him to suppress it.
At that time there were five British ships of war at
Victoria and not one worth mentioning under the
American flag in this vicinity.
Gov. Gholson gave only one message to the legis-
lature. It was dated December 7, 1859. The mes-
sage for the session of 1860 was given by Secretary
Henry M. McGill, acting governor, while Gov. Ghol-
son remained in the East on his leave of absence.
In that one message, Gov. Gholson's language re-
vealed the eloquent son of the South. He spoke en-
thusiastically of the prospects of the new territory
and especially of the railroad so near in the minds
of the people. He welcomed the idea of "John
Chinaman" as a laborer to work on the Western
end of the road. At the close of his message he con-
demned those who proposed to dissolve the Union
because of the quarrel over slavery. Said he: "See-
ing, then, that there is a possibility, nay, 'tis feared
a probability, of such an awful catastrophe, let us
in this embryo state beware of the hydra-headed
monster dissolution, and at once, as faithful senti-
nels, take our stand upon the watch tow'er of lib-
erty, and by our devotion to the constitution and the
Union the rich legacies our forefathers bequeathed
us prove ourselves worthy sons of the noble sires,
and leaving, as they did, unfettered and unmolested,
to each political division of the Confederacy (who
alone are responsible for them) the management of
its own domestic affairs; imitate their wise, peace-
ful, fraternal and sublime example. And firmly set-
ting our faces, now and forever, against all who
would jeopardize or destroy the palladium of liberty;
profoundly thankful for past blessings, fervently be-
seeching the almighty ruler of the universe that its
legislation may be always right, yet recollecting that
to occasionally err has been the unavoidable lot of
ail mankind; relying upon the sagacity, wisdom and
equity of our countrymen, with an abiding faith
that ultimate public justice will be done; 'clinging
RICHARD D GHOLSON 19
to the constitution and the Union as the shipwrecked
mariner clings to the last plank when night and the
tempest close around him,' let our motto ever be 'The
Union.' "
That peroration was probably forgotten when
he wrote to Secretary of State Jeremiah S. Black, on
February 14, 1861, that he was "unwilling, even for
a day, to hold office under a Republican president, "
and, therefore, he resigned as governor of Washing-
ton territory before Abraham Lincoln was inaugu-
rated. That letter is on file in the bureau of rolls
and library, department of state. There are other
letters on file concerning the occupation of San
Juan island and other matters in Washington. In
one he mentions that he was born in Garrard county,
Ky., but, unfortunately, he does not mention the
date. The barest biographical essentials are still
missing in this case. Edwin Gholson, of Cincinnati,
is said to be preparing a genealogy of the Gholson
family. He has not answered an appeal for infor-
mation. J. Franklin Jameson, director of the depart-
ment of historical research, Carnegie institution of
Washington, has caused to be made an extensive
search in the great library of congress. The results
are simply baffling in their meagerness. In Collins'
history of Kentucky it was found that Gholson was
a Democratic member of the Kentucky senate from
1851 to 1855, representing Hickman, Ballard, Fulton
and Graves counties. His own county was Ballard.
Kentucky and Washington newspapers were searched
in vain. As for a portrait, no success was obtained
by a search in the usual sources, including the list
of 100,000 Americans in the files of the American
Library Association. The search is still in progress
WILLIAM H. WALLACE
W. H. WALLACE
Fourth Territorial Governor
1861
NO. IV. WILLIAM H. WALLACE
The fourth governor of the territory was for
many reasons a most interesting character in the
history of the West. He "Was born in Troy, Miami
county, Ohio, July 19, 1811. He studied law in
Indiana and moved to Iowa in 1835. There he served
as speaker of the house in the first legislature and
later served as president of the council. He moved
to Washington territory in 1853, the year the new
territory was created, and served in several of
the early sessions of the legislature, becoming presi-
dent of the council as he had done in the territory
of Iowa.
Being appointed by President Lincoln in 1861, Wal-
lace was the first Republican to become governor of
Washington territory. He had been a Whig and
went over to the new party on its organization.
While still a Whig he was a candidate for delegate
to congress at the first election in the new terri-
tory, which was held on January 30, 1854. He was
defeated by the Democratic nominee, Columbia Lan-
caster. But that office was attractive to him and
was deemed greater than the governorship. For
this reason he accepted the nomination as the Re-
publican candidate for delegate to congress soon
after his appointment as governor. His opponents
were Selucius Garfielde, Democrat, one of the most
eloquent men known in the West, and Judge Edward
Lander, Independent, who had gained prominence
during the Indian wars through a clash of authority
with Gov. Stevens. Wallace had also been in the
Indian war as captain of a company he had organ-
ized. He served in the field while his wife and son
remained in the blockhouse fort at Steilacoom. His
record made him a good candidate and the approach-
ing clouds of civil war also aided his cause. He was
elected and resigned the governorship. For a few
months Secretary L. J. S. Turney performed the ex-
ecutive duties as acting governor.
Before his term in congress had expired the terri-
tory of Idaho was created in 1863 and President
Lincoln appointed Wallace as the first governor.
The appointment was made on July 10, and on
September 22 the governor issued his proclamation
calling for the first election to be held on October
(23)
-I GOVERNORS OF w ASI 1 1 \< ;T< >.\
.'M. In that flection \Yallac<- \v:is i-li-i-t.-il :is Idaho'-
first delegate to congress. < >n tin- .-\piration of that
term in congress lie ret u rued to his home in Stella-
COOm and was elected probate juduc of I'ierec county,
which position ho held to the time of his death, !" ]>-
riiary 7. 1879.
II is life was wholly on the frontier and he was
highly respected in Indiana, Iowa, Washington and
Idaho, where was achieved his eventful career. He
was a Mason for more than forty years and at the
time of his death he was master of Steilacoom LodK 1 .
No. 2, of Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Wallace Was married on February 3, 1839, to
.Miss Suxana Brazelton, a native of Guilford county,
North Carolina. To this union were born two daugh-
ters and a son.
WILLIAM PICKERING
WILLIAM PICKERING
Fifth Territorial Governor
1862 to 1866
NO. V. WILLIAM PICKERING
The war governor of the territory of Washing-
ton was William Pickering. He received his appoint-
ment because of a close personal and political friend-
ship with Abraham Lincoln. He was born in York-
shire, England, in 1798, and graduated from Oxford
university in 1820. A year after his graduation he
came to the United States and settled in Edwards
county, 111. He early allied himself with the Whig
party and began his friendly relations with Lincoln.
He is credited with having conceived the idea of
and drawn the plans for the first railroad between
Chicago and St. Louis.
He had ten years' experience in the Illinois legis-
lature from 1842 to 1852. In 1860 he was chairman
of the Illinois delegation to the Republican national
convention and thus had much to do with securing
the nomination of Lincoln. It is said that President
Lincoln offered his friend the choice of the United
States ministry in England or the governorship of
the territory of Washington.
He accepted the governorship and arrived in
Olympia in June, 1862. During the four years that
followed he was able to impress the history of the
territory with his ability and integrity. One of the
first things he did was to place himself firmly in
opposition to the vicious practice of granting legis-
lative divorces. In his first message to the legis-
lature, December 17, 1862, he said: "I should be rec-
reant to the duties I ow'e to society if I failed to
call your serious attention to the sad and immoral
effects growing out of the readiness with which our
legislative assemblies have heretofore annulled that
most solemn contract of marriage." His earnest op-
position won, such divorces ceased and the at-
tempted constitution of 1878 and the effective one
of 1889 each had a provision against legislative
divorces.
A civil engineer by education and profession, the
governor was greatly interested in the projects of
wagon roads across the Cascade mountains, and
shared the hopes of the pioneers of securing rail-
roads.
In March, 1824, he had been married to Martha
Flowers. Descendants of that union still live in the
(27)
28 GOVERNORS <>F \V.\Sl 1 1.\< ;TI .\
state of Washington. His grandson is authority for
the story that when Gov. Pickering unit hack Kast
and railed on President Lincoln, tlie latter bowed liis
head, clasped his hands behind him and walked back
ami forth a few moments. He then turned abruptly
in front of his visitor, exclaiming:
"I was wondering, Mr. Governor, h<>w many rails
I could split out of one of those Puget sound cedar
trees you've been telling me about."
The governor was so impressed with the possi-
bilities of the territory that he secured a farm near
Snoqualmie falls to be saved as a heritage for his
family. As his term was drawing toward a close,
he gave his last message to the legislature on De-
cember 11, 1866. He again referred to the need of a
highway across the mountains and in closing spoke
glowingly of the approaching Paris exposition of
1867. Secretary of State Seward had sent him in-
formation about it and he had arranged with Thorn a.-
Craney to send from Utsalady, on the ship Belmont,
Capt. Hurrol, a flagstaff 150 feet long as an exhibit.
He said: "The glorious flag of our beloved country
will float from its top, to the admiration of all
visitors, far above the emblems and banners of any
other nation."
When his services as governor ended he lived a
short time on his farm in King county and then
returned to Illinois. He was planning to come back
once more to the Northwest when he died, April 22,
1873.
Downright honesty was one of Gov. Pickering's
chief qualities. His last surviving son is Richard
Pickering, now 85 years of age and a highly re-
spected citizen of Seattle. He says his father saved
from his salary as governor $900 which he sent
back home to Judge Mayo, of Illinois, to be paid to
Mr. Hanks, who had invested and lost in a railroad
project planned by Gen. Pickering. The governor
wanted to live long enough to pay off every dollar.
His associates insisted that they only risked as he
himself had done, but he would hear none of that,
and paid every dollar in full. Later the sons re-
alized a few thousand dollars from equities in the
old railroad right-of-way. The father was dead, but
the newspapers announced the fact that Richard
Pickering stood ready to pay any proved debt that
his father had left. The successor to the railroad
enterprise that was so far ahead of its time then
is now known as the "Air Line" between St. Louis
and Louisville.
GEORGE E. COLE
GEORGE E. COLE
Sixth Territorial Governor
1866 to 1867
NO. VI. GEORGE E. COLE
George E. Cole was a forceful and typical pio-
neer. He was born in Trenton, Oneida county, N.
Y., December 23, 1826. He worked on a farm and
got enough education to embark in the w'ork of
teaching district schools. This he continued until
the lure of California gold and adventure drew him
across the plains in 1849. A companion on this
journey was Phillip Ritz, for whom Ritzville, Adams
county, was named. Not meeting with the desired
success in California, the two embarked for the
Umpqua river in 1850 and Cole soon became a legis-
lator, farmer, trader and prominent pioneer of Ore-
gon.
As a legislator, he became chairman of the com-
mittee that drew up the memorial to congress ask-
ing for the creation of the Territory of Columbia,
which, when being created, was renamed Washington
Territory. After serving a brief term as postmaster
of Corvallis, he decided to move to Walla Walla to
participate in the trade being developed by the Oro
Fino and other mines of the Idaho hills. He has left
a little book of reminiscences called "Early Oregon,'
in which he says that after moving his goods to
Walla Walla in 1860 he returned to Portland long
enough to cast his vote for Douglas for president.
In 1863 two important events happened in his life.
He w^ent back to Corvallis and was married to Miss
Mary E. Cardwell. In the same year he was elected
delegate to congress, being the first man living east
of the Cascade mountains to win that honor.
On the expiration of his term in congress, Presi-
dent Andrew Johnson appointed him governor of
Washington. His commission was dated November
21, 1866, but his administration ended within a few
months, as the senate, being at outs with the presi-
dent, refused to confirm the appointment. Through
no quarrel or fault of his own, therefore, he was
given no chance to show his ability in that office.
The title of "governor," however, clung to him
through the long and useful years that followed.
He was appointed postmaster of Portland, Oregon,
by President Grant and was re-appointed by Presi-
dent Hayes. He was a contractor on the construc-
tion of the railroad from Roseburg to Portland and
(31)
32 GOVERNORS OF \v.\si 1 1.\< ;T< >.\
I.-ner on a portion of the Northern Pacific along
Pend Orcille lake and Clark Fork.
In 1SS3 he secured a section of land in Spokane
county, between Cheney and Medical lake. He had
had many kinds of experiences in mining, tradin-.
steam boating, railroad building and in public of-
fice. He now settled down as a farmer, which he
declared was the best work of all. He consented to
interrupt his enjoyment of farm life in 1888 by ac-
cepting the office of treasurer of Spokane county,
which he held for two terms, the limit allowed for
that office under the state constitution.
He died in a hotel in Portland on December 3, 1906.
MARSHALL F. MOORE
MARSHALL F. MOORE
Seventh Territorial Governor
1867 to 1869
NO. VII. MARSHALL F. MOORE
Marshall F. Moore was a well-educated man
who had had a brilliant career as lawyer and soldier
before he became governor of Washington territory.
He was born in Binghamton, N. Y., on February 12,
1829. He graduated from Yale, studied law and
then began the practice of his profession in New
Orleans. After five years in the Southern metropolis
he removed to Sioux City, la. There he was elected
prosecuting attorney and was latfr promoted to
be judge of the court of common pleas. He re-
moved to Ohio and was married to the daughter of
P. Van Trump, of Lancaster. Later, when he was
appointed governor of Washington territory, he was
accompanied to the Far West by his brother-in-law,
Philemon B. Van Trump, who gained fame by making
the first ascent of Mount Rainier with Gen. Hazard
Stevens.
When the civil war broke out Marshall F. Moore
was quick to respond to the call for volunteers. He
served under McClellan in Virginia and under Sher-
man. Among the battles in which he took part were
Rich Mountain, Shiloh, Chickamauga, Jonesboro
and Missionary Ridge. During these battles he rose
in rank, being breveted to that of brigadier general
at Jonesboro, and as his military service drew to a
close, he was breveted major general on March 13,
1865, a recognition that meant much to a brave of-
ficer.
In 1867 he was appointed governor of Washington
territory by President Johnson. His term lasted
but two years and he did not long survive its termi-
nation. He died in Olympia on Saturday, February
26, 1870. The Olympia Transcript of the following
Saturday said he had been in feeble health for a
long time as a result of wounds received in the war.
For several weeks no hopes had been entertained
for his recovery, and "yet the announcement of his
death cast a gloom over the community. In him
the territory loses a useful and valuable citizen, one
whose interests were closely identified rvith it for
the good of the whole territory. He was a kind and
courteous gentleman to all. We sincerely sympa-
thize with his family in their loss. The deep affec-
tion he held on the people was observable in the
(35)
36 GOVERNORS OF \v.\si 1 1 N< ;T< >\
whisper, .nl word, the drooping of flags and the sus-
pension of business to pay tin- last art of respect."
Gov. Moore experienced but one session of tin ter-
ritorial legislature, that of isr.T. His message was
printed in the journals of both couneil and house.
It is an able document and shows that the new
governor was quirk to enter into the hopes of the
people. Besides the local needs of roads, mail routes
and institutions, he comments on the new treaty
with the Sandwich islands and the possibilities of
commerce. He wrote before the name of Alaska had
come into use, as this extract shows:
"Since the last session of her legislative assem-
bly, Washington territory has ceased to be the ex-
treme northwestern portion of the United States
dominions. The acquisition, by treaty, of Russian
America and the Aleutian archipelago gives her a
comparatively central position with respect to our
entire possessions on this slope, and adds materially
to her geographical importance. This extension of
the national boundaries wall give a new impetus to
the commerce of the Northern Pacific and open a
new market to our productions." The big advantage
he saw was in the whale and cod fisheries of the
new lands to the north. All this seems archaic to
those who have lived to see the wealth of gold,
furs, salmon and other things flowing out of the
treasure land of Alaska,
ALVAN FLANDERS
ALVIN FLANDERS
Eighth Territorial Governor
1869 to 1870
NO. VIII. ALVAN FLANDERS
Alvan Flanders was a man of vigor and of wide
experience. He was born in Hopkinton, N. H., on
August 2, 1825. He attended the public schools and
then learned the machinist's trade in Boston. Like
many other young men of his day he was touched
with the Western fever and emigrated to California
in 1851. Instead of going- to the gold mines, he
embarked in the lumber business. This he continued
until 1858, when he joined with others in organizing
and publishing the San Francisco Daily Times.
He was elected to the California legislature from
San Francisco and was rewarded with re-election.
He was appointed by President Lincoln to a posi-
tion in the San Francisco mint and later to the posi-
tion of registrar of the United States land office in
Humboldt.
In March, 1S63, he removed to Washington terri-
tory and entered into business in Wallula. In 1866
he was the Republican candidate for delegate to
congress. His Democratic opponent was Frank
Clark, of Steilacoom. The contest was a very close
one, Flanders' majority being only 153 out of a vote
of 5,000. His term extended from 1867 to 1869. As it
drew toward a close he planned a campaign for re-
election. Selucius Garfielde, formerly a Democrat,
was also ambitious for the Republican nomination.
Flanders was apparently persuaded to draw out of
the race by the offer of the governorship, which was
given to him by President Grant. It was one of the
early appointments made not long after the presi-
dent's inauguration.
Gov. Flanders held his new office only one year.
However, he was chief executive during the legis-
lative session of 1869. His message was printed in
both council and house journals. He submitted re-
ports from other territorial officers, including Sur-
veyor General E. P. Ferry, who later became gov-
ernor. Wagon roads are mentioned as one of the
most "pressing wants of our territory." Lumber,
commerce and railroads are discussed. He is frank
and outspoken in his opposition to the general gov-
ernment's pending treaty to refer the San Juan dis-
pute to the Swiss republic for arbitration. Among
other things he said: "This claim of the British gov-
(39)
m GOVERNORS OF \v.\si 1 1 \< ;T< >.\
to tin- IV ll;iro archipelago, ami its offer to
that claim if our govern im-n t would
u|> Sail Juan, was an after thought. As tin-
of Washington territory ('! a deep interest in the
i-urrect and speedy settlement of this question, 1
would suggest that a memorial relating to this
matter be sent to the senate of the United States by
your honorable body."
He concluded his message with this prophecy
and advice: "On Puget sound will be built a city
from whose wharves ships will sail to every ocean,
and whose steamers will connect with every port
on the Coast, with the Pacific islands and With Asia.
A city that will compete successfully with San
Francisco for the commerce of the Pacific, when
that commerce shall be a hundred fold greater than
now. It is your duty to foster and encourage every
enterprise of capital and labor which will tend to
produce this result, and by wise laws to secure to
every individual the largest liberty possible, and to
all equal protection and exact justice."
Several citizens of Washington remember Gov.
Flanders. Thomas H. Cann, of Seattle, was employed
by Wells Fargo & Co., while Alvan Flanders was
agent of the company at Wallula. Mrs. W. C.
Painter, of Walla Walla, was an intimate friend of
Mrs. Flanders. She sent a clipping from the Walla
Walla Union of March 18, 1894, giving details of
Gov. Flanders' death in San Francisco on March 14,
1894. After leaving Washington territory, he had
suffered an accident necessitating the amputation
of his right leg. He then opened an office as notary
public in the stock brokers' neighborhood. Over his
office was the law office of former Gov. Salomon.
EDWARD S. SALOMON
EDWARD S. SOLOMON
Ninth Territorial Governor
1870 to 1872
NO. IX. EDWARD S. SALOMON
Edward S. Salomon, a German Jew, born in
Schleswig-Holstein on December 25, 1836, experi-
enced an eventful career as an American citizen.
On completing a high school education in his native
land, he came to the United States and settled in
Chicago. He became an alderman of that city in
1860.
On the outbreak of the civil war he joined the
Twenty-fourth Illinois infantry as second lieutenant
and speedily rose to the rank of major. Through a
disagreement a number of officers resigned and Mai.
Salomon joined others in organizing the Eighty-
second Illinois infantry, of which regiment he be-
came lieutenant colonel. He was soon promoted to
the rank of colonel and before the war ended he
was breveted brigadier general. He had given a
good account of himself in a number of battles, in-
cluding such important ones as Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain.
When peace returned he was made clerk of Cook
county, with his home once more in Chicago.
President Grant appointed Gen. Salomon governor
of Washington territory in 1870. He served but two
years, during which there was but one session of
the legislature. During the years following his ad-
ministration there were echoes of political trouble?,
but there is no doubt of the governor's courage.
He vetoed a legislative reapportionment bill passed
by both houses, saying, "This bill seems to me
unjust, and would deprive some of the citizens of
the territory of the representation they are en-
titled to."
Good evidence of appreciation is the following-
resolution, unanimously adopted by the house of
representatives on November 29, 1871: "Resolved,
that the thanks of this body are due and are hereby
tendered to Hon. E. S. Salomon, governor of Wash-
ington territory, for his prompt attention to the acts
of the legislative assembly, and his approval of their
measures enacted into laws."
jfhere is a choice reminiscence of the governor's
visit to the then small town of Seattle. He landed
at the principal wharf at Yesler's mill. The street
leading from the wharf was called Mill street. It is
(43)
M GoVKi:.\"i:s OP WASHINGTON
now Vt-slcr way. The lower part of the street
running past the mill to the wharf had been built
11)1 of slabs and filled in with sawdust from the
mill. Traffic and the weather had made the saw-
dust Hark, but it still held some of its granular
form.
"What fine soil you have here!" exclaimed the
governor, as he reached down and fondled a handful
of it. "You ought to raise fine grapes on such
soil."
The old settlers always relished the telling of
that incident to newcomers. The writer heard it
as a boy, though he had not the privilege nf meet-
ing the governor who was being gently laughed at.
On the conclusion of his term as governor, Gen.
Salomon removed to San Francisco. There he was
twice elected to the California legislature and also
held the office of district attorney of San Fran-
cisco. He was department commander of the Grand
Army of the Republic and for eight years was com-
mander-in-chief of the Army and Navy Republican
League.
Gov. Salomon died in San Francisco on the eve-
ning of July IS, 1913. His son occasionally visits
Seattle from his home in San Francisco.
The son is Doctor Max Salomon, who resides at 1634 Fell Street, San
Francisco.
ELISHA PEYRE FERRY
ELISHA P. FERRY
Tenth Territorial Governor 1872 to 1880
First State Governor 1889 to 1893
NO. X. ELISHA PEYRE FERRY
No man in the history of the commonwealth of
Washington has had so long and intimate an asso-
ciation with its public life as Elisha Peyre Ferry.
He lived here twenty-six years and nearly every
one of those years was filled with some form of
public service. He was a clean, upright, courageous
man, whom the public loved to honor and to follow.
He left Illinois in July, 1869, to take up the duties
of his new office as surveyor general of Washing-
ton territory. Not long after his arrival at Olym-
pia he was called upon by Gov. Alvan Flanders
for a report on the number of acres of public lands
surveyed in the territory. His report was brief and
to the point, showing more than 5,000,000 acres sur-
veyed, about equal portions on each side of the Cas-
cade mountains. That early evidence of promptness
and thoroughness characterized his whole public
career.
He had received his appointment at the hands of
President Grant, who promoted him to the gover-
norship in 1872, and reappointed him to the same
high office in 1876. He served two full terms, or
eight years, in that office, thus exceeding the rec-
ords of all other territorial governors. On the ad-
mission of the territory to statehood he was chosen
by the people as their first chief executive and
served the first term of three years.
His first message to the legislature, dated Octo-
ber 9, 1873, reveals a firm grasp of the duties and
responsibilities of his office. The most important
item related to the Northwestern boundary settle-
ment. After reciting in brief its history down to
its arbitration by the emperor of Germany on Octo-
ber 21, 1872, he says: "Immediately after receiving
notice of this decision, I caused civil authority to
be re-established over the islands lying between
the two channels, and I am pleased to be able to
inform you that these islands now form, indisputa-
bly, a part of the county of Whatcom, in the ter-
ritory of Washington. I suggest the propriety of
forming these islands into a new county." Within
the month the legislature responded by the creation
of San Juan county.
(47)
is OOVEIl.XOKS OF WASH INCT >.\
IFc calli-.l mi tin- legislature t<> in;ikc provision
for participation in 1)1.- tVntennial exposition of
L876, aixl treated the subjects of railroads, finance,
a uriculture ami nliiration in a \vay to enroll rage the
citi/.ens and friends of the territory.
In the session of 1875 Gov. Ferry took a firm
stand in a coimtx -division fight by vetoing tin- hill
to create the "County of Pins" out of Walla Walla
county's area. The origin of that name is revealed
l>y the journal of the next council, 1877, where
Klisha Ping appears as joint councilor for Columbia,
Whitman and Stevens counties.
The courage of Gov. Ferry was shown during the
Nez Perce Indian war of 1877. Though that war
was fought in Idaho and lands east of that terri-
tory, there were disturbances in Eastern Washing-
ton, and the governor made a trip to try and quiet
matters. At that time such a journey was much
more difficult and dangerous than at later periods.
At the last session of his territorial governorship
there were the usual expressions of mutual thanks
between governor and legislature, to which was
added the following: "Resolved, by the council, the
house concurring, That we take this method of ex-
pressing our thanks to Mrs. E. P. Ferry for the
bountiful collation provided for the members of this
assembly."
On retiring from the governor's office in 1880
he removed to Seattle and resumed the practice of
law in the firm of McXaught, Ferry, McXaught &
Mitchell, one of the most prominent legal firms in
the Pacific Xorthwest. Though in private life for
about ten years, he was called often before the
public to defend by his eloquence causes and issues
that appealed to him. In September, 1887, he re-
tired from the practice of law and became vice pres-
ident of the Puget Sound National Bank.
When the territory became a state in 1889 there
was a lively contest for the first nominations to
the principal offices. Two of the territorial gov-
ernors became the standard bearers in the state's
first political race Gov. Ferry for the Republicans,
and Gov. Semple for the Democrats with the result
as above indicated. Another of the territorial group,
Gov. Squire, became one of the first United States
senators.
Gov. Ferry presided in his usual charming and
effective manner as chief executive during the first
session of the state legislature from November 6,
1889, to March i'S, 1890. He called an extra session
ELISHA PEYRE FERRY 49
of the legislature in September, 1890, to enact a leg-
islative apportionment bill. When the regular ses-
sion of 1S91 drew near, Gov. Ferry was compelled
by feeble health to leave the state. He went to
California, and the duties of his office devolved
upon Charles E. Laughton, lieutenant and acting
governor. On Gov. Ferry's return to the state he
resumed his work and continued with unabated
zeal until his successor was inaugurated in Janu-
ary, 1893.
Gov. Ferry was usually thought to be a native
son of Illinois. He came to Washington from that
state and his first successes were achieved there.
However, he was born at Monroe, Mich., on August
9, 1825. After attendance at the public schools ci
his home he began the study of law. This he con-
tinued at Fort Wayne, Ind., and was admitted to
practice law when but 20 years of age. In 1846
he removed to Waukegan, 111., and settled down
for twenty-three years of work as a lawyer. This
w T ork was interrupted during the civil war. He
served on the staff of Gov. Yates from 1861 to
1865 as assistant adjutant general, with the rank of
colonel. In this capacity he assisted in organizing
and equipping many Illinois regiments. Not long
after the war he came to Washington territory as
surveyor general.
When his term as state governor ended in 1893 he
lived in quiet retirement in Olympia and Seattle.
He died on October 14, 1895. He was survived by
his widow and four children, who made their homes
in Seattle. Mrs. Ferry died in Seattle on January
6, 1911. Both she and her distinguished husband
had been earnest and consistent members of the
Episcopal church. Mrs. Ferry found a multitude
of ways to exercise her quiet, motherly charities,
while Gov. Ferry not infrequently conducted the
services of the church as lay reader. Two well-
known members of the family still living in Seattle
are Mrs. Eliza Ferry Leary and Pierre P. Ferry.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS NEWELL
W. A. NEWELL
Eleventh Territorial Governor
1880 to 1884
NO. XI. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS NEWELL
Dr. William Augustus Newell was one of the
few territorial governors who served a full term
of four years. He was appointed by President Hayes
in 1880. There were three sessions of the legislature
during his administration. These were the two
regular sessions of 1881 and 1883 and a special ses-
sion which he called to assemble on December 2,
1881, immediately upon adjournment of the regular
session. In both the regular sessions money was
not plentiful enough to print both council and house
journals. The house journals alone were printed.
The session of 1881 had to publish the proceedings
of the extra session and on that account seemingly
the governor's message was omitted from its pages.
His message of 1883 was published in the house
journal and shows a keen appreciation of the needs
and prospects of the territory. He touches upon a
great variety of topics, including the hope of state-
hood. One reference reveals high aspirations of the
people:
"The completion of the Northern Pacific railroad
from Lake Superior to Puget sound is an event of
immeasurable importance to the entire Pacific coast
country north, and especially so to the territory of
Washington. * * * To Washington it brings as-
surance of early greatness, by placing us in the
very van of commercial importance on this newly
opened highway of nations, including us in its circuit
around the globe, and making our great waters the
necessary counterparts of the seas of China and
Japan, the North sea of Europe and the bays of
Boston and New York."
He favored wholesome legislation for the terri-
tory and throughout his administration he seemed
the embodiment of optimistic hope for the early
greatness of the commonwealth. He deserves only
the kindest remembrance in Washington, and yet
his memory is more highly cherished in New Jersey.
The main reason for this may be seen in his dread
of advancing years. He was 63 years of age when
he arrived in Olympia as governor. He wanted to
appear younger and constantly dyed his hair and
beard. The people misjudged his motives in this and
never held him at his real worth.
(53)
:,i GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
He had a career before coming to Washington
that any man would be proud of. He was born in
Franklin, O., on September 5, 1817, descending from
revolutionary forebears. He graduated from Rut-
gers college in 1836, took graduate work and lat.-r
took the medical course at the University of Penn-
sylvania, graduating in 1839. He removed to N--\v
Jersey and successfully practiced his profession untii
he entered public life. He was elected to congress
in 1846 and re-elected in 1848.
His skill as a physician being well known, h<-
was called to attend John Quincy Adams when that
"grand old man eloquent" fell on the floor of the
house of representatives with what proved a fatal
shock of paralysis in 1848. During that same con-
gressional experience he introduced a resolution that
led to the establishment of the agricultural bureau.
In 1848 he secured an appropriation of $10,000 to
establish life-saving stations on the coast of New
Jersey, which was the beginning of that important
national service.
He had been a Whig and joined the Republican
party at its organization. He was elected as the
first Republican governor of New Jersey, serving
from 1857 to 1860. From 1861 to 1S64 he was super-
intendent of the lifesaving service in New Jersey.
He was then returned to congress and was for a
time the family physician of President Lincoln. He
represented New Jersey at the funeral of President
Lincoln, as he had also done at the funeral of John
Quincy Adams. At the end of his second congres-
sional experience, in 1867, he resumed the practice
of medicine. In 1877 he was again the Republican
candidate for the governorship of New Jersey. This
time he was defeated by Gen. George B. McClellan.
When his term as governor of Washington terri-
tory ended in 1884, he became United States Indian
inspector, serving from 1884 to 1886. He was resi-
dent surgeon of the Soldiers" and Sailors' Home,
1894-1898, and in 1899 he returned to Allentown, N.
J. It was in that town he had begun the practice
of medicine just fifty years before. He bravely re-
sumed his work at the place of beginning and con-
tinued until his death, on August 8, 1901. Rutgers
college had honored her distinguished alumnus with
the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1881, while he was
governor of Washington territory. He had married
in 1884 Joanna, daughter of Dr. William Van Deur-
sen, of New Brunswick.
It should be added that Dr. Newell's purse was
always a slender one. When not employed by the
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS NEWELL 55
government it was necessary for him to fall back at
once upon his profession. There are not a few
cases of poor people whose needs he served without
cost, and for whom he bought medicines at times
when he himself was in need of money. Slowly the
people of Washington are learning that the one
they thought an eccentric governor was in reality
a man of skill and of many talents, as well as a
warm-hearted, sympathetic friend of those in need.
WATSON CARVOSSO SQUIRE
WATSON C. SQUIRE
Twelfth Territorial Governor
1884 to 1887
NO. XII. WATSON C. SQUIRE
At a time when partisanship was tense it was
a great gratification to the friends of Gov. Squire
that he was retained in office for the first two
years of President Cleveland's administration. He
was appointed by President Arthur in 1884, the last
year of his own administration. The appointive
officers were soon changed from Republicans to
Democrats after President Cleveland's inauguration,
but Gov. Squire, though he had early tendered his
resignation, was the last territorial governor to be
removed at that time. The reason for such favor-
able treatment is found in the quality of his serv-
ice during a most trying period.
The whole Pacific coast was torn with agitation
against the Chinese. In the territory of Washing-
ton the trouble reached its climax in the winter
of 1885-1886 when all the Chinese were driven out
of Tacoma, several were killed during an assault
in Issaquah valley, and a serious riot was quelled
in Seattle. In all this, Gov. Squire was firm and
courag-eous, relying on the local militia to maintain
his martial law proclamation until President Cleve-
land sustained his acts and ordered federal troops
to relieve the militia of the patrol in Seattle.
The governor's patriotic behavior in that crisis
would have been enough to attract favorable atten-
tion to him, but he supplemented it with another
service of great value. He formulated a remark-
ably good report to the secretary of the interior.
This embodied papers by experts on the natural
resources of the territory and conditions favorable
to growth. Many thousands of copies were printed
by the government and by private means. They
were circulated broadly, just after the Northern
Pacific railroad was completed and while the state-
hood agitation was active. Population increased
rapidly, and Gov. Squire's name was more and more
favorably known.
But one session of the legislature was held dur-
ing his three years as governor, and that session
of 1885 had no money to print the journal of either
council or house. Though the printed evidence is
missing 1 , his bearing there is known to have been
(59)
60 GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
quite as url>aiie :unl sa t is! a < I ory :is in :ill his oth--i
duties in tin- office, mown l i ^ n i fi. > I and iin|>nri an t
with th' evolution of tin- common \v-a 1 1 h.
It is difficul t to compress \villiin brief compass a
record of Watson C. Squire's life. He lived
well through dramatic ami stirring years. He was
Imrn at Cain- \" im-i-nt , X. Y.. on May IS, 1S:!S, and
came from pre-revol ut ionary ancestors. His educa-
tion included graduation from the \\'- sl-y ;i n univer-
sity at Middleton, Conn., in 1859, and from the
Cleveland Law School in 1862. He was principal of
the Moravia Institute, Moravia, X. ST., when the civil
war broke out, and he was the first man to enlist
in Company F, Nineteenth New York Volunteers.
Though elected captain, he stepped aside in favor
of an older man and became first lieutenant. After
six months' service he shared the opinion that the
war was about over, and, receiving an honorable
discharge, he completed his law studies and began
practice in Cleveland, O. When another call for
troops was issued he responded promptly, organized
a company of sharpshooters and saw service through
the rest of the war. He rose to the rank of colonel
and participated in such battles as Chickamauga,
Missionary ridge, Resaca and Nashville. He also
served as trial judge-advocate of the departmental
court under Gen. Thomas, and later in a similar ca-
pacity on the staff of Gen. Rousseau.
At the end of the war he accepted employment
with the Remington Arms Company, becoming in
time its secretary, treasurer and manager. During
that service he signed the first contract for the
manufacture of typewriters. He visited foreign
countries for the company. On December 23, 1868,
he was married to Miss Ida Remington, granddaugh-
ter of the founder of the company. Two sons and
two daughters were born to this union.
In 1876 he invested in Seattle lands and three years
later made his home here, engaging in various en-
terprises. He had made many friends among promi-
nent men in the East. Among these were President
Arthur and Republican leaders of New York.
Through this influence he secured appointment as
governor of Washington territory.
After his term as governor he continued to work
actively for statehood. This work and his record
as governor won for him election as one of the
first two senators chosen on the territory's admis-
sion to statehood, and was re-elected in 1891 for a
full term of six years. In this new office he was
WATSON C. SQUIRE 61
active and successful. The matters that received his
attention were of wide range, probably the most
important being that of coast defense. One biogra-
pher says: "At a single session he increased the coast
defense appropriation and authorizations of con-
tracts from $600,000 to $11,500,000."
Since his retirement to private life Senator Squire
has divided his time between Ilion, N. Y., where his
\vife prefers to live, and Seattle, where his sons
are in business. His life was beautifully summa-
rized at the eightieth commencement of Wesleyan
university by President Shanklin, as follows:
"Watson Carvosso Squire, your alma mater de-
lights this day to honor you; soldier with a distin-
guished record which won you promotion from the
ranks to colonelcy; successful business man; gover-
nor; United States senator; thirty-six years a faith-
ful trustee of Wesleyan university in all these
relations clear-sighted, just and patriotic. I admit
you to the degree of doctor of laws."
EUGENE SEMPLE
EUGENE SEMPLE
Thirteenth Territorial Governor
1887 to 1889
NO. XIII. EUGENE SEMPLE
The administration of Eugene Semple as gov-
ernor of Washington territory has suffered at the
hands of historians. There are many causes for this,
among which are the following: He was appointed
as a Democrat for only the last half of President
Cleveland's term. The territory under normal condi-
tions was overwhelmingly Republican. Partisan bias
was intensified by the agitation for statehood, for
it was known that then the people would choose
their own governor. There were three large issues
in the public mind. The anti-Chinese agitation had
grown tense and had culminated in fatal riots in
the first two months of 1886. The elections in the
fall of that year had gone in favor of the leaders of
the agitation and the air was charged with threat-
ening outbreaks during the first year of Gov. Sem-
ple's administration. He won applause from the
law and order press by maintaining the same firm
attitude as his predecessor. This was wholesome
and w'ise, but there was no spectacular outbreak to
challenge the attention of the historian.
Similar conditions surrounded the issue of woman's
suffrage. Just before his administration the su-
preme court of the territory, on February 3, 1887,
decided as unconstitutional the law giving the fran-
chise to women. The people were divided on the
issue, but the agitation was continued and the legis-
lature passed a new law framed to meet the court's
objection to the old law. When this new law went
into the hands of Gov. Semple for approval or veto
he was subjected to a severe bombardment of let-
ters and resolutions. He approved the law and was
warmly thanked by its advocates, but again his
record was overlooked in history, because statehood
came so soon, with a constitution omitting woman's
suffrage, that the law approved by Gov. Semple had
no chance of being put to use.
Another issue of that day was on the Wane.
Charles S. Voorhees, Democrat, had been elected
delegate to congress on the clamor for the forfeiture
of the unearned land grants to the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company. He was re-elected in 1886, but
in 1888, during Gov. Semple's administration, John
B. Allen, Republican, was elected to that office, fore-
(G5)
66 GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
which of the two parties would be successful
in the first election under statehood.
Gov. Semple was a fearless, honest and talented
mail. It was. of course, no fault of his that his two
Democrat ii- years of administration should fall in
the midst of a Republican rush toward statehood.
In private life he was well beloved. Not only was
he a clean man, affable and refined, he was also
a man of great vigor and enterprise and he came
honestly by an intense love of the Far West. He
was born on June 12, 1840, in Bogota, Colombia, his
father being the United States minister to the South
American republic, then known as X<-\v Granada.
The father was the famous Gen. James Semple, of
Illinois, who took a prominent part in the agitation
for retaining the whole of Oregon, popularly phras.-u
as "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" Gen. Semple made
speeches in Illinois and Ohio along these lines in
1842 and 1843. It was he who, as United States sen-
ator from Illinois, introduced the resolution giving
the necessary twelve months' notice to end the joint
occupancy of Oregon by America and Great Britain.
The Pacific Northwest is indebted to Gen. Semple
for his valiant advocacy, and it is not surprising to
learn that it was with difficulty that his son was
restrained long enough to finish his education be-
fore starting out for Oregon.
As soon as the boy had graduated from the law
school of the Cincinnati college, he traveled by way
of New York, Panama and San Francisco to Port-
land, Or., where he begun his career as a lawyer in
the fall of 1863. Seven years later he became editor
of the Daily Oregon Herald, leading organ of the
Democratic party. In the same year that he changed
from lawyer to newspaper man he was married to
Miss Ruth A. Lownsdale, daughter of one of the
early pioneers of Oregon. To this union were born
three daughters and one son. After serving as state
printer of Oregon, clerk of the circuit court and
police commissioner of Portland, he removed, in
1882, to Vancouver, Washington territory, where he
became extensively engaged in the manufacture of
lumber.
In Vancouver he took a leading" part in organizing
the Columbia Waterway Association, and in a paper
on river improvements showed that he possessed
great ability as an engineer. It was this part of his
many-sided nature that was to fill his last years.
When his term as governor had ended and the de-
sired statehood was achieved, he moved to Seattle
and accepted appointment as a member of the board
EUGENE SEMPLE 67
of harbor line commissioners. Later he organized
the Seattle & Lake Washington Waterway Company.
The city directory of Seattle for 1894-95 carries Gov.
Semple's name as president of that company, and
also states that the state of Washington, through the
commissioner of public lands and the governor, had
entered into a contract with the company "for filling
in of the tide lands of Elliott bay, the excavation of
the waterways and the Lake Washington canal from
the harbor to the lake." The directory for the fol-
lowing year speaks of the interest still maintained
in the government canal and states that the private
canal had behind it a company organized "a little
over a year ago," with $7,000,000 of Missouri capital.
To this company Gov. Semple gave the energy of his
last years. The government canal is about finished.
The private canal is not, but the "waterways are im-
proved and wide areas of tide lands are redeemed
and filled, ready for use. The governor's broad
vision was thus in great part realized when he was
stricken with paralysis in the summer of 1908. He
was hurriedly removed to San Diego, Cal., to regain
his strength, but he died in that city on August
28, 1908.
MILES CONWAY MOORE
MILES C. MOORE
Fourteenth Territorial Govern *r
1889
NO. XIV.- -MILES CONWAY MOORE
The last territorial governor had a brief term,
but that term w'as important, and, moveover, the
man himself is a very useful citizen, with an inter-
esting 1 history. When Benjamin Harrison succeeded
Grover Cleveland in the presidency on March 4,
1889, the principal appointive officers in the terri-
tories beg-an soon to be changed from Democrats to
Republicans. It was during- that year of change
that Miles C. Moore, of Walla Walla, was appointed,
in April, governor of Washington territory. It was
expected that the territory would soon become a
state, and this added a sort of sentimental value to
the office, since the man who held it during- the birth
of the state would always be remembered.
As it turned out, Gov. Moore was chief executive
for seven months. He took to the office a certain
dignity of character and charm of personality that
made his brief administration a very acceptable
one. The great event was, of course, the acquisition
of statehood. The niceties and intricacies of the
transition were all met by Gov. Moore with a gen-
uine suavity that precluded any social or political
mishap. Prior to the actual change an uncomfort-
able burden was placed upon the governor. From
June to August, three cities Seattle, Spokane and
Ellensburg suffered severely from devastating
fires. Help was needed. Gov. Moore's proclamations
met with instant response from all over the United
States, and even from foreign countries. In Seattle
it was necessary to call out the militia to guard the
sixty acres of ruins. In all this the governor showed
a commendable vigor and steadiness of purpose.
His career is one of those that show success
achieved by true manhood in action on the American
frontier. Born in Rix Mills, O., on April 17, 1845, he
was but 12 years of age when his family moved to
Wisconsin, and the boy entered Bronson institute at
Point Bluff. He studied there six years. During
that time he read about the Western explorations
by Bonneville, Fremont and others. On leaving- that
Methodist academy he started for the West, locating
first in Blackfoot, Mont. He soon moved farther
westward, until he found himself penniless in Walla
Walla. Kyger & Reese gave him a clerkship in their
(71)
72 <;oYKKN<>i:S OF WASHINGTON
store. He must have been an attractive youth, for
he obtained a partnership at 21 years of age in the
store of H. E. Johnson & Co. From that time his
progress and success have been constant.
In 1869 he entered the firm of Paine Brothers &
Moore, dealers in general merchandise and farm
implements, to which business he gave his energies
for nine years. During that time he was married,
in 1873, to Mary Elizabeth Baker, daughter of Dr.
D. S. Baker, one of the early and well-beloved pio-
neers of Oregon and Washington. He was twice
elected to the city council and in 1877 was elected
mayor of Walla Walla.
At the end of that one year as mayor he formed a
partnership with Dr. Baker, under the firm name
of M. C. Moore & Co., to participate in the grain
business. On the death of Dr. Baker his large es-
tate was managed, in part, by Miles C. Moore. He
became vice president of the Baker-Boyer National
Bank in 1889, and has served as president of the
same substantial institution since 1899. He is also
president of the corporation known as M. C. Moore
& Sons, engaged in the business of loans and invest-
ments.
From 1909 to 1912 he was a member of the execu-
tive council of the American Bankers Association.
In 1913 he was elected president of the board of
overseers of Whitman college, of Walla Walla. He
is interested in the historical, literary and educa*
tional development of the Pacific Northwest, as well
as in its economic, industrial and financial prog-
ress. He is a frequent and welcome visitor in all
of the principal cities of the Northwest.
GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE
GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE
NO. XV. ELISHA PEYRE FERRY
Gov. Ferry has the distinction of being the only
governor of territorial days to be elected to that
office after or upon attaining statehood. He was
the first governor of the new state. His biography
was published in the territorial group as No. X.
(75)
JOHN HARTE McGRAW
JOHN H. McGRAW
Second State Governor
1893 to 1897
NO. XVI. JOHN HARTE McGRAW
The second governor of the state of Washington
may be said to have been a graduate of the "Uni-
versity of Hard Knocks." Born at Barker's planta-
tion, Penobscot county, Me., on October 4, 1850, he
had but scant schooling- in that far northeastern cor-
ner of the Union. The story was told that one cold
winter day, when the boys were made to toe a line,
he was ordered to step forward, and later to step
back again, before the teacher found that the little
fellow was wearing cast-off boots much too large
for him. His father was drowned and, the mother
marrying again, the boy struck out for himself at
14 years of age. At 17 he was manager of a general
store, and on reaching his twenty-first birthday ne
formed a partnership with his brother. Through
no fault of the brothers, the business failed in
1876, and John H. McGraw started immediately for
the Far West. A few months Were spent in San
Francisco, and on December 28, 1876, he landed in
Seattle, "which city became his home for the rest
of his life.
While in business with his brother in the state
of Maine, he was married in 1874 to May L. Kelley.
The two children survive their parents and live in
Seattle Mrs. Kate McGraw Baxter and Thomas H.
McGraw.
On arriving in Seattle, McGraw was penniless, but
he soon found employment as clerk of the Occidental
hotel, and not long afterward he became proprietor
of the American house, near Yesler's wharf. Losing
all by fire, he accepted work as a policeman. From
this point his upward progress was rapid and con-
tinuous, though he had by no means passed all the
hard knocks. He became city marshal, chief of
police and sheriff of King county. He was re-elected
to the latter position a number of times.
When the anti-Chinese agitation culminated in a
severe riot m Seattle on February 7, 1886, Sheriff
McGraw was found true to his trust. He joined with
his fellow citizens in contributing to a fund to pay
the fares of Chinese who desired to leave the city,
but at the same time he declared that the others
w'ould be given full protection of the law. This
(79)
NO ;<tvi-:i;x<>i;s < >K WASHINGTON
\\;us clone effectually, but when the election took
place in the following \n\ i-mbcr. Sin -riff Mn ; ra\v
ami all others on the Krpubl ica n ticket in Kin;;'
county met defeat, except H. G. Thornton, candidate
for constable. The popular furor.' cooled, however,
ind Mr. McGraw was returned to tin- sheriff's office
in tin.- next election, 1888.
In the meantime he had passed through another
'\perience that showed the progress of his self-
education. While sheriff he had been using all his
spare time studying law and in 1887 he joined with
t\vo eminent jurists Judges Roger S. Greene and
Cornelius H. Hanford in the formation of a firm
of lawyers. His prospects were excellent for suc-
cess in the legal profession when he yielded to the
call to lead another political battle in King county.
During this last term in the sheriff's office he be-
came president of the First National Bank. He de-
clined re-election as sheriff in 1890 and gave his
whole time to the bank.
During all his years as an officer of the law he
took great pleasure in helping boys and young men
whom he found struggling for an education. This
side of his life received no publicity, but the present
writer knows about it, for he was one of the boys
so helped and encouraged.
Mr. McGraw' had risen in his party's councils. He
was a member of the Republican national conven-
tion in 1892 and was elected during that same year
as governor of the state. He was inaugurated in
January, 1893. As a member of the legislature in
1893, the present writer was a witness of the earnest
manner in which Gov. McGraw applied himself to
his duties. The state had plunged into extrava-
gances during the first few years after emergence
from territorial tutelage. To check this and to face
the troubles growing out of the panic of 1893, the
governor began economies to which he compelled
the adherence of the state institutions. He also
vetoed a number of appropriation bills. These rather
drastic measures added no glamor to his administra-
tion except in the minds of the relatively few citi-
zens who observed and approved the businesslike
methods of the chief executive. One issue cost him
much of his popularity in those lean years of panic.
The legislature yielded to the clamor for a deficiency
judgment law. It was repugnant to the governor,
who could see in it nothing but a repudiation of
debts. He vetoed the bill and brought down on his
head a crash of indignant protest. As in all his
JOHN HARTE McGRAW 81
other transactions, he did not waver in what he
thought was right.
His administration was closed by the famous free
silver campaign of 1896, when the Republican party
in the state of Washington was thoroughly beaten.
Then Gov. McGraw was called upon to face the worfit
hard knock of his whole career. In territorial days
the sheriff's office had been on the fee system. The
office in King: county during McGraw's last term
in it involved more money than any other similar
office in the territory. At the end of his term he
had all his books and accounts audited and checked
more than once by independent and legal authorities.
Six years later, after he had suffered with others
through the panic and when the county administra-
tion had changed, a new audit caused the surprising
announcement to be made that McGraw owed King
county nearly $10,000. This was a staggering blow.
Times were hard. No property could be sold. Little
or no money could be raised. In this crisis McGraw
chose a well-known Democrat, and he requested
the Democratic prosecuting attorney to choose an-
other. In the hands of these two men he placed
escrow deeds to all his property, to be sold as soon
as possible to pay the debt due the county.
Soon afterward, in that same year, 1S97, the Klou-
dike treasure ship Portland arrived at Seattle. Mc-
Graw decided to try to recover his broken fortun^
in the Nrrth. The present writer stood on the whaix
all day to jay farewell as his friend sailed away.
One old pioneer on that wharf declared, waving his
hand toward McGraw: "I have fought that man in
many a campaign, but when I see him take his pick
and shovel to dig a new fortune out of the frozen
earth, I'm done. I will never fight that man again."
When he returned from Alaska he formed the real
estate and insurance firm which still is doing busi-
ness under the name of McGraw, Kittinger & Case.
He never again sought public office, but he con-
tinueu to serve his city and state in the best way.;
he knew how. He had always been one of the fore-
most advocates of the Lake Washington canal ana
he maue j.rcquent journeys to the national capital
in behalf of that and other enterprises pending be-
fore congress or governmental departments. He was
elected president of the Seattle Chamber of Com-
merce in June, 1905, and served in that capacity for
four years. He was a trustee and vice president
of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition.
In such public and semi-public positions he was
>p ten called upon to preside at meetings and to maKe
82 GOVKi:.\"i;s OF WASHINGTON
addresses. His self-education was li'-arin.n- fruii.
ife gave evidence of wide reading. and all was tem-
pered with his natural and warm-hearted sympathy.
Once he failed. His voice choked and tears trickled
down his cheeks. The audience was made up of poor
little unfortunates in the reform school.
Soon after his death, June 23, 1910, the citizens of
Seattle, through a committee appointed by the Se-
attle Chamber of Commerce, began the work of
erecting a suitable memorial to him in the city he
loved and served so well. A statue, wrought by the
sculptor, Richard E. Brooks, was erected at McGraw
place. With suitable ceremonies it was unveiled on
July 22, 1913.
JOHN RANKIN ROGERS
JOHN R. ROGERS
Third State Governor
1897 to 1901
NO. XVII. JOHN RAXKIN ROGERS
The "barefoot schoolboy bill" made John R.
Rogers governor of the state of Washington. There
were many other contributing 4 causes, but that was
the main one. As a Populist member of the legis-
lature in 1895, he made himself the champion of
that measure. It was bitterly opposed by the three
largest cities Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane. Those
cities were already carrying heavy burdens of
school taxes. The new law provided a way to
make those wealthy cities contribute to the support
of the schools in the smaller towns, and more es-
pecially those in the rural districts. The barefoot
schoolboy alw^ays makes a fine issue in a political
campaign. This time he came to the surface at a
most opportune crisis.
The Republicans were being criticized for the de-
ficiency judgment veto by Gov. McGraw. The free
silver agitation was at its height. Times were hard
and people were reaching out in all directions for
relief. Economic readjustment was the demand of
the hour. To insure success for their side, the op-
ponents of the Republican party Democrats, Popu-
lists and Silver Republicans united into the Fusion
party for the big campaign of 1896. Right there is
where the barefoot schoolboy saw his champion
hailed as the best possible standard bearer for the
new party. At the election his majority was more
than 12,000.
Many people shuddered as he entered upon the
duties of his office. He refused to ride to his in
auguration in a carriage with his predecessor. His
austere bearing gave promise of attempts to en-
force the doctrines that seemed flamingly fantastic
during his campaign speeches, but alarming and
revolutionary when he had become the governor.
This feeling of dread was soon modified, however,
when he announced that he would try to serve the
whole people rather than any single party.
Before the first year of his administration had
ended, the Tacoma Daily Ledger published, on No-
vember 11, 1897, a large special edition. In it
Gov. Rogers had an article on "The Future of
Washington." It was optimistic throughout and
ended with this prophecy: "It will thus be seen
(85)
M; GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
that, so far as \vr arc able to discern the future,
conditions favor tin- development in the state of
Washington of the strongest, no.-t prosperous an<l
happy people to he found anywhere upon the face
of Cod's .Hl-et'll earth."
'["lie change in the governor was accelerated by
two big events. Hard times were seemingly ban-
isln-d in a single clay by the arrival of the Klondike
treasure ship in July, 3897. Politics as well as busi-
ness shared in the golden glow of promised pros-
perity. And then the outbreak of the Spanish-
American war called to the surface executive tal-
ents of high order. As the legislature assembled in
January. 1899, the Republicans showed great gains,
but Gov. Rogers was undaunted by the political re-
verses of his party. His message was full of com-
mon-sense advice about further economies in gov-
ernment. He favored fewer normal schools and
better support of the common schools. He also fa-
vored a railroad commission, the examination of
<=tate banks and the protection of fisheries. !!>
.uave most of his attention to taxation and how to
reduce the burden. His closing words were char-
acteristically grim and pointed: "Men whom we
are anxious to attract and wh< are worth attract-
ing, whose coming among us would aid and
strengthen us, are close observers in these matters
and cannot be allured by the mere glittering gen-
eralities of the real estate dealer or the panegyrics
of hired scribblers."
The territory and state of Washington have been
nominally Republican ever since that party has
been in existence. However, at political crises the
voters have shown a wholesome independence. This
w^as first shown by adherence to the Union cause in
1864 during the second Lincoln campaign. It was
again shown by two elections of Charles S. Voor-
hees, Democrat, to congress in 1884 and 1886 on the
issue of forfeiting the unearned land grants of the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company. It was shown
again by the re-election of Gov. John R. Rogers in
1900. He was the only man in our history that was
so honored. Gov. Ferry had been twice appointed
to the office before being elected in 1889, but Gov.
Rogers was twice elected.
The people had become convinced that the rugged
old man was thoroughly honest, and there were
none, even among his numerous foes, who ques-
tioned his courage. In that election of 1900 the
Republicans elected their entire state ticket with
the exception of the governor. When the legisla-
JOHN RANKIN ROGERS 87
ture assembled and the second inauguration of the
governor was completed they encountered a man
much broadened by his four years in office. He was
still quick for the combat, however, when questions
of appropriations or taxation came up. He avoided
an affront by withholding his veto from the legis-
lative reapportionment bill and simply showed his
disapproval by allowing the bill to become a law
without his signature.
Toward the end of the first year of his second ad-
ministration and, as it turned out, within a week
of his own death, the governor gave out an inter-
view criticizing President Roosevelt's attitude to-
ward the trusts. One vigorous pronouncement in
that interview was as follows: "But one force in
this nation is sufficiently powerful to curb the enor-
mous pow'er of the trusts, and tha' is the national
government. Government ownership is the only
and final end of the tremendous concentration of
wealth which, so far, has proceeded without let or
hindrance."
After suffering for a week with an attack of
pneumonia, Gov. Rogers died on the evening of De-
cember 26, 1901. It was especially appropriate that
the school children of this state, with their pennies
and dimes, should raise a fund to erect a statue
of the governor in the capital city.
John R. Rogers was born in Brunswick, Maine,
1838. After a common school education in his na-
tive town he went to Boston and learned the phar-
macy business. He managed a drug store in Missis-
sippi until the approach of the civil war, when he
became a farmer and school teacher in Cumberland
county, Illinois. In 1876 ho moved to Kansas and
had a varied experience in that state. He was a
farmer and was elected to local offices and estab-
lished and edited the Kansas Commoner. He came
to the state of Washington in 1890, making his
home at Puyallup, Pierce county, until he took up
his residence in the capital city.
At the time of his death Federal Judge C. H. Han-
ford addressed his court, briefly eulogizing the
character of the man and concluding: "The record
will show that the court, upon the motion of Sen-
ator Allen, stands adjourned for the day, out of
rescect to the memory of Gov. Rogers."
HENRY McBRIDE
HENRY McBRIDE
Fourth State Governor
1901 to 1905
NO. XVIII. HENRY McBRIDE
Henry McBride was the first man to succeed to
the governorship from the office of lieutenant gov-
ernor. In territorial days the secretary often acted
as governor during- the absence of the chief execu-
tive. After statehood, the lieutenant governor did
the same thing on a number of occasions. On the
death of Gov. Rogers, December 26, 1901, Mr. Mc-
Bride was at once sworn iji <u. governor. Being a
Republican, he and the other state officers, as well
as the legislature, were brought into political accord.
Former Gov. Miles C. Moore, who had journeyed
from Walla Walla to attend the funeral of Gov.
Rogers, took occasion to say: "The people of the
state are to be congratulated that the unfinished
work of this great office has descended to one so
able to discharge it. Gov. McBride is a man of
power and executive force, and the people may rest
assured the varied interests of our commonwealth
will be safe in his hands."
An even more intimate note of approval was
sounded by Mayor J. P. de Mattos, of Bellingham.
who said: "It is just nineteen years ago since, on a
journey to Whatcom on a Sound steamer, I stopped
at La Conner, in Skagit county, for a few days.
There I became acquainted with Henry McBride,
who was teaching a country school." He then
sketched his rapid rise to the governorship.
The teaching of that country school is somewhat
of a key to the success of Gov. McBride. He was
born at Farmington, Utah, on February 7, 1856. After
attendance at the public schools in Western New
York, he entered Trinity college, in Connecticut, for
a term of three years. After leaving school he start-
ed West and spent two years in California before
moving to Washington territory in 1882. He began
his school teaching at Oak Harbor, on Whidby
island. His spare time was used in the study of
law. As La Conner was the county seat of Skagit
county and a better place to study law, he moved
his residence to that city, but still continued his
work of teaching the country school.
This strenuous life of teaching, studying and
traveling back and forth continued for two years,
and yet they were happy years. There are few
places on earth more beautiful than Oak Harbor and
Coupeville, on the northern end of Whidby island,
and the waterway to La Conner. In addition to the
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GOVI-:I:NMI:S < n-' WASHINGTON
sheer beauty of the surroundings, .M< -I '.ride Was
young and he was making progress. The records
slio\v that at the end of those two years he was
admitted to practice law in the < "iirts of Washing-
ton and he was also married to Alice Garrett, of
Coupeville.
lie at once entered upon the serious business of
his new profession at La Conner. In 1887 he mov.-'l
to Mount Yernon, Skagit county. In that same year
lie formed a partnership with I-:. M. Carr and Har-
old Preston, of Seattle, but the firm was dissolved
in two years. He was elected prosecuting attorney
for the district comprising Whatcom, Skagit and
Snohomish counties.
The legislature of 1891 having created a new su-
perior court to embrace Skagit and Island counties,
Lieutenant and Acting Gov. Laughton appointed Me-
Bride to be its first judge. In 1892 the people elect-
ed him to the same position for a full term of four
years. His record made him a state figure and he
was nominated and elected lieutenant governor in
1900.
On succeeding to the governorship in 1901, he pur-
sued a calm and businesslike course. Changes were
made slowly and with deliberation. His message to
the legislature of 1903 showed his poise as well as
his familiarity with the needs of the state. It is
rather a long document, but the following paragraph
will reveal its good sense:
"In passing, permit me the suggestion that our
educational institutions should be kept entirely free
from politics, or political influence of any kind. Ap-
propriations for their support should not be made
to hinge upon other legislation. In this matter but
two considerations should govern their actual
needs, and the ability of the state to meet those
needs. I have not caused the removal of any mem-
ber of the board of regents, or board of trustees, of
these institutions, nor have I appointed any such
member for political reasons; nor shall I do so. And,
whatever contests may face us during this session,
I indulge the hope that no one of our educational
institutions may be made the football of contending
forces, or of aspirants for place."
All the institutions found him true to his word.
Vt the end of his administration he resumed the
practice of law in Seattle, forming the firm of Mc-
Bride, Stratton & Dalton. The firm was not of long
duration, however, as Gov. McBride decided to give
ap the practice of law and to devote himself to the
manufacture of shingles and lumber. He has con-
tinued to reside in Seattle.
ALBERT EDWARD MEAD
ALBERT E. MEAD
Fifth State Governor
1905 to 1909
NO. XIX. ALBERT EDWARD MEAD
In looking over the list of the governors of
Washing-ton, territory and state, not many would
pick out Albert E. Mead as one who occupied the of-
fice during 1 a political crisis. Reference is here made
to the enactment, during- his administration, of the
direct primary law. He was the last governor to be
nominated by the older plan of the party conven-
tion. It is not likely that he could have secured the
nomination under the new law. He was relatively
poor in worldly possessions, and the direct primary
law has proved very expensive to the candidates for
the greater offices. Since his day it has become
necessary for candidates for the governorship, or
groups of their friends and supporters, to spend
large sums of money and untold energies in con-
tests for the nomination and election.
Another change during his administration, large
enough to merit mention, may be epitomized with
the words "extra gubernatorial duties." The confer-
ence of governors called by President Roosevelt dig-
nified the office and increased its power for good
by pointing the way toward greater co-operation of
the states. Coincident, seemingly, with these dis-
tant conferences came a multiplying of calls within
the state for the governor to participate in meetings
and public enterprises. Every governor since that
time has had difficulty in filling such extra engage-
ments.
Besides the direct primary law, there were a num-
ber of other important measures enacted during
Gov. Mead's administration. These included provis-
ions for a state railway commission, a state tax
commission, a public highway department, the office
of state bank examiner, the establishment of a re-
formatory and the indeterminate sentence of con-
victs.
After four busy but enjoyable years in the high
office of governor Mead went back to his home in
Bellingham and resumed his work as a lawyer and
as a public-spirited citizen for the four years of life
that remained to him.
Albert Edward Mead was born at Manhattan, Ri-
ley county, Kansas, on December 14, 1861. From the
public schools of Kansas, Iowa and Illinois, he en-
(95)
!< 'Yi:i:.\' -i:s r WASIIIM :T< >.\
tere.l tin- Southern Illinois normal university at
i'arboixlale, from whieh lie .uTaduat.-d in 1882. TWO
years more at the rnion College r Law in Chicago
fitted liim for admission lo the bar of the
courl of Illinois iii L885. ror r<>vir years in-
law al Leotl, \Vieliita COUHty, Kansas, after whieh.
in 1SS9, he moved to Washington territory and set-
tled at I'.lain-', \Vlialeom county.
He was mayor ol" IMaine in 189L'. and in that same
year lie was elected a member ot" the house of rep-
resentatives in the legislature. In 1 v^- he w;is
elected prosecuting' attorney, which required his re-
moval to Bellingliam, the county seat. Jle was re-
elected in 1900 and in 1904 he secured the nomina-
tion and election to the governorship.
Before coming to Washington territory, he \vas
married, at Anna, 111., in 1887 to Miss Lizzie Brown.
To this union three sons and one daughter were born.
Mrs. Mead died in 1898, and on May 5, 1899, at Van-
couver, B. C., he was married to Mina J. Piper, a
widow, daughter of Albert Hosmer. One son was
born to this wife.
Among other activities after the governorship, he
devoted himself to the work of the Bellingham Cham-
ber of Commerce. He became president of that or-
ganization in 1911, and in December, 1912, he was
unanimously re-elected. An attack of grip devel-
oped into valvular disease of the heart. He died on
March 19, 1913.
He had always been a vigorous, campaigning Re-
publican. It was therefore a pleasant commentary
on his genial personality when Gov. Ernest Lister,
an equally vigorous Democrat, telegraphed to Mrs.
Mead a message of sympathy including these
words: "In his death the state has lost one of its
foremost citizens and I a personal friend."
SAMUEL GOODLOVE COSGROVE
SAMUEL G. COS GROVE
Sixth State Governor
1909
NO. XX. SAMUEL GOODLOVE COSGROVE
Here is a man who was governor of the state of
Washington for a single day. The record of that
day and the struggles that led up to it is a story
fraught with profound pathos and, at the same time,
filled with buoyant, optimistic hope.
The senate journal for January 27, 1909, says that,
on motion of Senator Cotterill, the senate adjourned
at 3 o'clock to the house chamber "for the purpose
of \vitnessing the inauguration of Samuel G. Cos-
grove as governor of the state of Washington.' 1
Gov. Cosgrove entered the joint session with Gov.
Mead, escorted by a committee of senators and rep-
resentatives. On being introduced by Lieut. Gov.
Hay, Gov. Cosgrove, pale and emaciated, made a
brief address that sorely taxed the small remnant
of his strength. Among other things he said: "A
few weeks ago I was led down into the valley of
the shadow, and I was allowed to peep almost on
to the other side, but for some reason or other I
have been called back, and I am here with you
again. But I do want to show that I appreciate the
sympathy that has come to me from all over the
state." He spoke of three items of legislation close
to his heart. He wanted a strong local option law,
a constitutional amendment to insure the efficiency
of the railroad commission and a law to strengthen
the plan of primary elections. He asked as a special
favor that he be granted a leave of absence to go
in search of health, and then he closed w r th the hope
that he would come back "to be governor in deed
and in truth." Many faces were tear-stained that
afternoon, and by unanimous vote the requested
leave of absence was promptly granted. On the
next day the special car was speeding the enfeebled
governor back to Southern California
That was the single day of his actual administra-
tion. However, as his death did not occur until
Sunday, March 28, he was technically governor for
two months. There is a sense in which it may be
shown that he gave his life for the climax of thai-
single winter's day. The terrific labor of that first
campaign under the direct primary law began to
tear into his health. He was warned, but he per-
(99)
341 930
inn GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
.-isted to the end, and in November, after the voting
was over, he went to Paso Uobles, Cal., hoping for
Bpeedy recovery. He was accompank-d by Mrs. Cos-
uro\ e. who bore ber share of impending trouble with
remarkable fortitude. It was slie who superint ended
tin- journey home for tin- inauguration and who re-
1'iained constantly on watch until thai "valley of the
shadow" was finally passed.
The personality of Samuel G. Cosgrove was an un-
usual compound. The most conspicuous portion of
it was by many thought to be almost boyish. Tt
was rare that he was not ready to laugh and joke.
For half a century he had cherished the ambition to
be the governor of a great American state. Know-
ing this, one of his political friends, an editor, asked
him why he had made a joke about some serious
political plan. His reply was that he honed he
would be found smiling when the Great Reaper
called for him. He could not help it. Jollity was a
large part of his nature. He always sought to sur-
prise into happiness those about him. At his home
on Christmas eve every one, even those temporarily
employed, had to hang up their stockings and he
WHS Santa Glaus.
"L,ike begets like." People joked with him. One
pleasant occasion was when he was graduating from
the Wesleyan University of Ohio in 1873. A custom
had arisen that no diploma should be issued to a
student with only one given name. Samuel Cos-
grove was zxsked if he would accept a middle name
and the professor, receiving pin affirmation, gave
him the name of Goodlove. which he bore ever after-
ward and handed it on to his son, Howard Goodlov?
Cosgrove. After his graduation he became principal
of a Cleveland, O., high school. The class tha*
graduated from that institution on June 2">, 1878, had
thirteen members. After the exercises were over
Principal Cosgrove waved the audience to their
seats, saying one matter had been overlooked. He
then called to his feet a minister among the guests
on the platform, and escorting one of the girls
7epphora Edgerton of the graduating class to the
front, he and she were thereupon made man and
wife.
As principal he had signed his wife's diploma, and
years afterward his daughter Myrn was about to
graduate from the University of Washington while
he was a regent. The president of the board of re-
gtnts resigned for a day in favor of Regent Cos-
grove, that he might surprise his daughter by sign-
SAMUEL GOODLOVE COSGROVE 101
ing her diploma. Besides this pronounced quality of
eifervescent geniality his character had two other
less conspicuous qualities, parallel layers above and
below one of lofty ideals, the other of deep, sin-
cere purpose. These kept his life, his language and
his thoughts perfectly clean at home and among hi?
fellow-men. They led him into the army at 16 years
of age when he heard the call to save the Union.
They extended his hand in many a helpful service.
They urged long hours of preparation when invited
to give the commencement address at his son's grad-
uation from the University of Washington. On the
train from his home he threw that address away
and began a new one. Those same less obtrusive
qualities kept him a sincere and earnest Christian
gentleman.
He was by no means sordid in his political am-
bitions, although he frankly avowed at an early date
that he wanted the governorship. He spent a year
mining in Nevada, another year in California and
then, in 1882, he settled in Pomeroy, county seat of
Garfield county, Washington, which remained his
home for the rest of his life. He served as mayor
of Pomeroy for five terms, pulling the city com-
pletely out of debt. His county was a small one,
and people joked when it came to the Republican
conventions with a candidate for governor. But
Cosgrove was patient and good natured. He helped
others win. He never failed in campaign seasons to
do his level best. He became so well and so favor-
ably known that the party managers named him a
presidential elector in 1900 and again in 1904. In
the last named year he refused a place on the su-
preme bench of the state. When the direct primary
law was enacted his opportunity had come. He
threw himself into the campaign of 1908 and won.
As lawyer and farmer he had gained a comfort-
able fortune and could afford the financial cost of
that campaign, but, as the result showed, he wan
not equal to the physical strain. He was born in
Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on April 10, 1847. He and
his family believed that he was young enough and
strong enough to overcome the dread Bright's dis-
ease. In the presence of that persistent hope his
death seemed sudden. He was given a state funeral
at Olympia, the most prominent men by their pres-
ence and their words showing how surely he had
won his way into their hearts.
Senator George Turner lamented the loss of a
friend and recalled the efficient services of Mr. Cos-
102 r,( >VKI;.\OKS OF WASHINGTON
grove as a member of the convention that frame. I
the state's constitution in l.vs'.t. Kormer < Jovrrnoi .s
Midraxv, Mead and Moore expressed tln-ir sorrow, .-is
did thousands of others. Former Vice President
Charles W. Fairbanks sent to Mrs. < 'osgrove a mes-
sage of s\ mpathy which closed \vitli these words:
"The state which so greatly honored him lias lost an
able, loyal, honored public servant, and we who
knew him and loved him from our youth, a dear an.l
noble friend."
The widow and the son and daughter (now Mrs.
Roy J. Kinnear) mentioned above and one other son,
Klliott Cosgrove. have lived in Seattle since the
governor's death.
MARION E. HAY
M. E. HAY
Seventh State Governor
1909 to 1913
NO. XXI. MARION E. HAY
On the death of Gov. Cosgrove the lieutenant
governor succeeded to the governorship for the sec-
ond time in the state's history. Lieut. Gov. Hay had
been acting governor except for the single day when
Gov. Cosgrove was inaugurated. The governor's re-
covery was hoped for and expected. When the sad
news came, Acting Governor Hay said: "While it
never was my privilege to become intimately ac-
quainted with Gov. Cosgrove, nevertheless I, like
the thousands of others in the state, knew of him,
and our knowledge bred in our hearts a love and
affection for him that grew with the years. Thus
it is with the deepest personal sorrow and a sense
of great personal loss that I heard of the untimely
death of our beloved governor and esteemed fellow-
citizen."
Again on the same day he declared: "As is well
known, when I became a candidate for the office of
lieutenant governor it was without the slightest
thought that I would ever be called upon to fill the
executive position. Now that those duties have de-
volved upon me, I shall perform them to the best of
my ability."
He lived up to that promise and the ability he
pledged proved to be of no mean quality. The extra
gubernatorial duties that began to develop in Gov.
Mead's administration increased greatly during the
term of Gov. Hay. This was largely due to the
Alaska- Yukon-Pacific exposition held in Seattle
during the year 1909. The governor was in con-
stant demand for public functions, and he responded
with a prompt and winsome cordiality. He had not
had the practice of speaking in the law or other
learned professions. He had been a successful mer-
chant. It was therefore a source of great satisfac-
tion to his friends that he arose to the new duties
with abundant grace and good sense.
The legislature of 1909 had appointed a committee
to investigate certain public officers. When that
committee's report was prepared, Gov. Hay called an
extraordinary session of the legislature to meet on
June 23, 1909. He gave a message full of forceful
injunction to make a thorough cleansing. He quoted
(105)
106 GOVERNORS OF WASHINGTON
fr<>m former President Koosevelt: "The exposure of
corruption is an honor to a nation, not a disgrace.
The shame lies in toleration, not in correction." In
his own words the governor declared: "Opposition
to further investigation can come only from those
v.ho have something in their official records which
they desire to conceal. An honest official welcomes
examination into the conduct of his affairs, as such
examination can only reflect credit upon him." That
note of honest candor was maintained throughout
his whole administration. His efforts were not al-
ways successful, but his aim was high and his pur-
pose true.
At the regular session of the legislature, on Jan-
uary 10, 1911, he gave his one full gubernatorial
message. It is a long document, covering a wide
range of topics. The language is simple and clear.
Through it runs the insistent purpose that all phases
of the state government shall be made efficient. He
concludes by asking the legislature to "exercise the
strictest economy consistent with practical achieve-
ment."
The state had grown progressive In politics. It
had not been found necessary to elect a third party
majority of the legislature. The Republican major-
ity in the session of 1911 enacted a number of the
progressive measures and they were approved by
Gc-v. Hay. Chief among these measures were the
provisions for the initiative and referendum. The
popular legislation, together with the acknowledged
sincerity and courage of Gov. Hay, seemed, at the
half-way station in March, 1911, to assure him a re-
election in November, 1912. As the election ap-
proached, nowever, enough opposition to the hign-
v. ay policy and to certain land entanglements in
Douglas county developed to defeat him.
Marion E. Hay is a native of Wisconsin. He was
born in Adams county of that state on December 9,
1865. His education was obtained in country schools
and at Bayless Commercial Business College, Du-
buque, la. He was clerk in a store at Jackson,
Minn., from 1882 to 1888. During that time, on Jan-
uary 16, 1887, he was married to Lizzie L. Muir. The
couple decided to carry out the frontier spirit of
their parents; so the next year, 1888, found them in
Davenport, Washington territory. For one year Mr.
Hay was in partnership with Charles Grutt, the
firm being Hay & Grutt. He then moved to Wilbur
and began general merchandising in his own name.
MARION E. HAY 107
The business prospered and in 1901 it was incorpo-
rated under the name of M. E. & E. T. Hay.
In addition to building up a large mercantile plant
at Wilbur, Mr. Hay acquired other property, farms
and city realty. Part of his wealth is worse than
nonproductive. Just before the Madero revolution
some one persuaded Gov. Hay to invest in large
areas of lands in Mexico. When peace is restored
to that unhappy land he will probably seek to de-
velop his property there.
Gov. and Mrs. Hay have an interesting family of
five children. The youngest of them was born at
Olympia, in the executive mansion. The two oldest
children are married, but the others are with the
parents in their beautiful home in Spokane.
ERNEST LISTER
ERNEST LISTER
Eighth State Governor
1913 to
NO. XXII. ERNEST LISTER
Ernest Lister, the present governor of the state
of Washington, is the only man of foreign birth who
has occupied that office since statehood. He was
born in Halifax, England, on June 15, 1870. In terri-
torial das^s two men of foreign birth were appointed
as governors William Pickering, born in England,
was appointed by President Lincoln, and Edward S.
Salomon, born in Germany, was appointed by Presi-
dent Grant. One other, Eugene Semple, was born
outside of the United States, but he could not be
counted of foreign birth. His father was United
States minister to New Granada (now Colombia)
when the son was born in Bogota. But, even with
his foreign birth, Ernest Lister is more of a Wash-
ingtonian than many of the men w'ho have been
governors. When scarcely 14 years of age he came
to America with his father's family and settled in
Tacoma. That city has been his home for more
than thirty years. When the city was incorporated,
Lister's uncle, David Lister, became its first mayor.
The father, J. H. Lister, was a pioneer iron founder
in Tacoma. After the son had gone to business col-
lege a while, on completion of his studies in the
grades, he became an iron molder. He was a mem-
ber of the union and later was selected as delegate
to the union's national convention.
At 23 years of age the iron molder became a mem-
ber of Tacoma's city council and four years later he
was chairman of the state board of control under
Gov. John R. Rogers. He was strong and active
physically. His five years of close association with
John R. Rogers added to his native ability a cer-
tain ruggedness of mental processes and of political
purposes. He declined passes from the railroads
when such favors were freely given and as freely
accepted. He gave to his manifold duties a service
of such high quality that success in a business
career was assured to him as soon as he resumed
private life.
Not long after the death of Gov. Rogers, he be-
gan that business career. He succeeded in the
contracting business which culminated in the or-
ganization of the Lister Manufacturing Company, a
lumber enterprise of importance, in Tacoma. Asso-
(111)
11J <:< >vi-:i;\ >i:s OF \V.\SI 1 1 \< ',T< >.\
Dialed -with liim in this enmpany \v:is his hrot li.-r
Albert. At tin- time <>r his flection to the governor-
ship, his brother Alfn >] was secretary of the Tacoma
board of education, and another brother, Arthur,
was general foreman of tin- pattern department of
the Northern Pacific railway.
In his own family Gov. List' -r lias an ideal home
life. lie was married in Tacoma on February 28,
1893, to Alma Thornton, a native of Oregon. Their
daughter, Florence, had graduated from the Tacoma
high school and Was a student in a girls' college in
the East when her father was elected governor.
Their other child, a boy of 12, bears the name of
John Ernest Lister one name for the father and the
other for the father's great friend, John R. Rogers.
Music, art and religious activities have made in
their house a happy American home of the best sort.
The Lister campaign for the governorship was a
spectacular one of the whirlwind variety. There
was a dispute about the nomination in the primary
election. When that was settled only three weeks
remained before the final election. Every known
vehicle but the flying machine was pressed into
service. Eleven speeches a day was not an uncommon
program. The Republicans carried their state ticket
with the exception of governor. Lister, the Demo-
cratic nominee, had won that place in those three
weeks.
His administration is about to enter its last year.
He has met two sessions of the legislature. To each
session he submitted a long, carefully thought-out
message. The ground covered by those documents
shows how the state was expanding in a multitude of
institutions, offices and interests demanding the at-
tention of the governor and the legislature. He
desired and urged economy, but he also requested
that care be used in applying the economies so
that no real need be jeopardized.
In his second message, 1915, he favored a new
constitutional convention, but, if the legislature
should not favor that, its duty w'as pointed out to
follow the present constitution and "apportion and
district anew the members of the senate and house
of representatives according to the number of in-
habitants." He urged an educational survey to
see if the cost could not be reduced and the effi-
ciency of the institutions be promoted. Each de-
partment of the government received attention, as
did a number of new proposals, such as rural credit,
the publication of school books, and especially the
advocacy of good roads.
ERNEST LISTER ll:J
The legislatures, with heavy Republican majori-
ties, were not in political accord with the governor.
Members of the legislatures were quite as anxious
as the governor to secure efficiency and economy.
They strove for those ends in their own way, but
their deliberations were disturbed by a number of
bitter contests, notably over appropriations for state
highways and provisions for state-wide prohibition.
Into several of these contests the governor was
necessarily drawn, apparently to the hurt of his
political standing.
The most casual visitor at the capital during the
session of 1915 would frequently hear from legisla-
tors and their friends that Gov. Lister had no chance
whatever of re-election. Now, the present writer
has no knowledge as to whether or not Gov. Lister
desires re-election, but this reflection has resulted
from a study of the governorship: Such political
judgments at the middle of a governor's administra-
tion are not at all dependable. This has been par-
ticularly true in Washington since statehood. Gov.
Ferry w'as ill in California during the winter of 1891
and was not expected to be in the following cam-
paign. But Gov. McGraw's political star was at
zenith height in 1894, and yet in two years the
whole Republican ticket was beaten. Gov. Rogers
was triumphant in 1896. Within two years he saw
his Fusion party congressmen defeated and his own
political chances lowered. Political prophets de-
clared that the governor could not hope for re-
election. However, in 1900 he was the only candi-
date on his ticket that was elected. Gov. McBride
stood high in 1902, but was defeated for renomi-
nation in 1904. This reversal of midadministration
judgments was not so marked in the case of Gov.
Mead, as the new direct primary law was to change
conditions. Gov. Hay stood highest in the middle
of his administration and his re-election seemed se-
cure until late in the campaign of 1912. In the
light of w'hat has happened in the past, it may be
that the governor, should he enter the race, will
feel encouraged by the adverse political judgments
of January, 1915, rather than be dismayed by them.
The extra gubernatorial duties have reached a
climax in Gov. Lister's term. Eastern conferences
of all the governors, Western conferences of groups
of them, two expositions in California, the open
Columbia river celebrations and other occasions
have called him out of the state. Within the state
events have frequently arranged themselves seem-
ingly in chains so that the governor makes a tour
ill GOVERNORS <'!' WASH I \< '/!'< >\
with fuin -lions in the morning, afternoon and eve-
ning- for a week at a time. His friends marvel that
he is able to keep his health, and his good nature
throughout the never-ending strain. He is still in
the prime of life. There is every probability that
he will continue for years an energetic, robust and
useful citizen of the state he loves after his release
from the burdens of public office.
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