Eugene Noble Foss (September 24, 1858 – September 13, 1939) was an American politician and manufacturer from Massachusetts. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives and served as a three-term governor of Massachusetts.

Early years and business

Foss was born in West Berkshire, Vermont, a small town near the Canada–US border. His parents were George Edmund and Marcia (née Noble) Foss.Adams, William Frederick.
Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Volume 4
'' New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910. p. 2462-2464. via Google Books. Foss's father was a politically active manager at the

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. The family moved to St. Albans, Vermont when he was ten. Foss was educated in public schools, and then attended

Franklin County Academy Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral div ...

in St. Albans, Vermont. He enrolled in the University of Vermont. He left the university after two years. Next, he studied law but dropped out to pursue business interests.

Career

Foss first worked as a traveling salesman, selling a lumber-drying device for the company his father managed. He also was the sales agent for

B. F. Sturtevant Company The B. F. Sturtevant Company was a Boston-based manufacturer of fans. It became a leader in the manufacture of industrial air cooling and ventilation systems. Origins The company was founded in 1860 in Boston by inventor Benjamin Franklin Stur ...

of Boston, selling its mill-related equipment. His success in this role prompted

Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant The B. F. Sturtevant Company was a Boston-based manufacturer of fans. It became a leader in the manufacture of industrial air cooling and ventilation systems. Origins The company was founded in 1860 in Boston by inventor Benjamin Franklin St ...

to offer Foss a management job in Boston in 1882. The Sturtevant began producing industrial ventilation equipment and diversified into extensive ironworks. Foss became the company president after Sturtevant died in April 1890. Under Foss's stewardship the company grew, opening branches Berlin, Johannesburg, Paris, and St. Petersburg as the Sturtevant Engineering Company. In 1901, he moved the primary manufacturing plant to

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, one of the finest such facilities in the United States. In its building that covered ten acres, Sturtevant Company made blowers, economizers, engines, forges, motors, turbines, and more. In addition to serving as treasurer and manager of the Sturtevant Company, he was also president and director of the

Becker Milling Machine Company Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from th ...

in Hype Park which had 500 employees in 1910. In addition, he was president of Mead-Morrison Manufacturing located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With its 500 workers, Mead-Morrison made coal conveying and hosting machinery. He was also president of two cotton mills—the

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in East Boston and the Burgess Mills at Pawtucket, Rhode Island which had 1,200 employees. Foss was also president of the

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and director of the

Brooklyn Heights Railroad Company Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company,

Chicago Junction Railway The Chicago Junction Railway operated a switching and terminal railroad in Chicago, connecting the Union Stock Yards with most other railroads in the city. It also briefly operated an outer belt, which became the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad in 190 ...

s, the

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of New York, and the Union Stockyard Company. He was also a trustee and member of the executive committee of the

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. After politics, Foss returned to his former manufacturing business and also managed his real estate holdings in Boston. He expanded its production facilities to include the American Napier automobile.

Politics

U.S. Congress

In 1902, Foss ran for U.S. Congress as a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

Republication. His main issue was a tariff reform platform, calling for "free wool, free coal, free iron, and free hides" and reciprocity with Canada. His campaign was held while there were high coal prices that had badly hurt Massachusetts. While many voters blamed coal prices on the protective tariff, President Theodore Roosevelt attributed it to the ongoing 1902 anthracite coal strike. Foss narrowly carried the Republican nomination in a September 24, 1902 caucus and started his campaign for control of the state party by submitting his revisionist plank at the October state party convention. His motion was defeated following a speech by Henry Cabot Lodge, urging national party unity in defense of the protective tariff., pp. 91-93, 97 Foss lost the general election to John Andrew Sullivan. In 1904, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He ran for Congress again in 1904, with an even more embarrassing defeat., p. 108 He next failed in a bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 1906. After Governor

Eben Sumner Draper Eben (sometimes incorrectly Ebenezer) Sumner Draper (June 17, 1858 – April 9, 1914) was an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was for many years a leading figure in what later became the Draper Corporation, the d ...

was elected in 1908, divisions within the state Republican Party deepened, especially over tariff reform. The party's position on tariffs led Foss to leave the party. In 1909, he bought his way onto the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

ticket as its nominee for lieutenant governor, but lost to the Republicans by a narrow margin., pp. 233, 251 In March 1910, Foss won a special election for United States House of Representatives, filling a vacancy caused by the death of William C. Lovering. He served until January 4, 1911, when he resigned to become governor of Massachusetts.

Governor

Foss then announced his intention to contend for the Democratic nomination for governor. The nominating convention was a contentious affair, with old-line labor Democrats opposing his nomination. Labor agitators criticized Foss for opposing bills that reduced maximum working hours, and supporting pro-business bills such as that authorizing the merger of the

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with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The convention deadlocked on the second ballot, between Foss and the previous year's nominee,

James H. Vahey James Henry Vahey (December 29, 1871 – April 7, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life Vahey was born on December 29, 1871, in Watertown, Massachusetts. His parents were Irish immigrants who came to the United States in 1869 ...

., pp. 252-255 There were fistfights on the floor, chairs were thrown, and the convention ended up appointing a committee to choose a nominee. The committee also deadlocked, this time between Foss and

Charles Sumner Hamlin Charles Sumner Hamlin (August 30, 1861April 24, 1938) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the first chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1914 to 1916. He previously served as the United States assistant secretary of the treasury f ...

. At this point, Foss announced that he intended to run regardless, and essentially demanded the party ratify his nomination. He won a mail election by a single vote., pp. 255-256 In the general election, labor Democrats attacked Draper's anti-labor record, while Foss essentially campaigned against the pro-tariff stance of Senator Lodge. The Republicans called in Theodore Roosevelt, in an attempt to paint Draper in a more favorable light. Foss won the election for Governor by 32,000 votes on November 8, 1910. He was reelected in 1911 and 1912. During his three terms as governor, Foss enacted many reform measures. He signed measures covering employer liability and workmen's compensation, but also vetoed bills authorizing the tenure of school teachers and the right to picket. He signed an election reform bill changing primaries to direct elections, a bill setting a minimum wage for women and children, and a bill allowing jury trials for cases involving the violation of strike injunctions., pp. 258-260 In addition, a pension plan was started for state employees and part-time schooling for working children was also enforced. He also promoted and signed bills that benefited his businesses. In 1911 he led a somewhat quixotic campaign to deprive Senator Lodge of his seat; his campaigning ended up having the opposite effect, essentially killing the chances of either Democrats or progressive Republicans to unseat Lodge., pp. 264-266 Foss's tenure included the 1912 textile strike in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

, which was stimulated by the passage of a law limiting the working hours of women and children. Organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or Wobblies), the labor action united numerous immigrant groups and involved more than 20,000 workers in all of the industrial city's mills. Incidents of violence in the strike prompted Foss to call out the state militia, and he applied pressure on the mill owners to settle the action by threatening to withdraw them.''Rosenberg, Chaim (2004). The Great Workshop: Boston's Victorian Age. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738524689.

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1035341536.'', p. 37 Foss denied clemency for

Clarence Richeson Reverend Clarence Virgil Thompson Richeson (February 15, 1876 – May 21, 1912) was executed for the murder of his fiancée Avis Willard Linnell. Avis Linnell died on October 14, 1911, at the YWCA in Boston. Biography Early life Richeson was ...

for the sensationalized murder of

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. Richeson had documented bouts of mental problems and was convicted without trial after eventually pleading guilty to the charges. His case prompted calls for reforms in the state's handling and treatment of mental patients. By 1913 Foss's anti-labor policies had disenchanted the state Democratic leadership, and Lieutenant Governor

David I. Walsh David Ignatius Walsh (November 11, 1872June 11, 1947) was an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 46th Governor of Massachusetts before serving several terms in the Unite ...

announced that he would challenge Foss for the Democratic nomination. Foss received no support from the party but was offered—and declined—the opportunity to contest for the Bull Moose Party nomination. He eventually took out papers for the Republican nomination but failed to qualify for the primary ballot. He ran in the general election as an Independent. It was a Democratic landslide, and Foss trailed far behind the other three candidates. He left office on January 4, 1914.

1925 campaign for Congress

In 1925, Foss ran for the 5th Congressional District as a "Coolidge-Democrat." He lost by a huge margin and did not win any districts.

Personal

Foss married his employer's daughter, Lilla Sturtevant, on June 12, 1884. They had two daughters: Ella S. Foss and Phebe R. Foss. He was as active in the Home Market Club of Boston and was also chair of the Republican Party in ward 23 of Boston. He was a trustee of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association (later the YMCA),

Colby University Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

, the Hebron Academy, the

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and the

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. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. He was a member of the

Algonquin Club The Algonquin Club of Boston, also known as The Quin House, is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1886. Originally a business-themed gentlemen's club, it is now open to men and women of all races, religions, and national ...

, the Boston Art Club, the Eliot Club, the

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, the Jamaica Club, and the Country Club. He died in Jamaica Plain on September 13, 1939. He was buried in

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a public ...

in Boston.