Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer

Stewart Holbrook Stewart Hall Holbrook (1893–1964) was an American logger, writer, and popular historian. His writings focused on what he called the "Far Corner": Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. A self-proclaimed "low-brow" historian, his topics included Ethan ...

, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had."

Biography

West was born in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada but moved to

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...

with his family at the age of four where he attended school and eventually went into banking. After several years as a banker in Salem and Astoria, and a six-month stint searching for gold in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

, West gained an appointment as the State Land Agent. He proved effective in his position, recovering almost 1 million acres (4,000 km²) of fraudulently held state land. In 1907, West left his position as Land Agent and was appointed to the Oregon Railroad Commission, where he again found a great deal of success.

Governor of Oregon

In 1910, he gained the Democratic nomination for Governor and went on to defeat his opponent,

Jay Bowerman Jay Bowerman (August 15, 1876 – October 25, 1957) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 13th Governor of Oregon, for the final few months of the term of Frank Benson, who retired due to illness. Early life B ...

, and take office in 1911. While in office, West defended what he called the Oregon System which included

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

and

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

systems still in use in many western American states today. Through these processes

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, various workers rights laws and most famously

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

all came into effect during West's administration. West established Oregon's beach highway law, proclaiming the entire Pacific coastline to the high tide line to be a public highway, thereby preserving scenery and beach access for future generations. The law protecting public access to the high-water line remains in effect on Oregon beaches, which were formally protected by the Oregon Legislature and Governor

Tom McCall Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 January 8, 1983) was an American statesman, politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the state's thirtieth governor from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, McCall grew ...

in 1967 (HB 1601). West is also credited with establishing Oregon's highway system, when in 1913 the Oregon HIghway Commission was created by the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the ...

, levying a tax upon all property to fund the establishment of a state roadway system. The tax raised $700,000 during its first year, money which was targeted to the development of three major road routes — the Coast Highway ( US-101), the Pacific Highway from Portland through the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

, and the Columbia River Highway connecting Portland with

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...

. He addressed a national convention of governors in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

in 1911, on the topic of prison labor.

Prohibition advocate

West was a fervent

prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

. He believed so strongly in the idea that he once declared

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

on New Year's Eve 1913 in order to shut down liquor-selling establishments in the town of

Copperfield, Oregon Copperfield is a former town in Baker County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is on the west bank of the Snake River and the north bank of Pine Creek, downstream of a feature of the Snake River known as The Oxbow. Copperfield Park, managed by Id ...

. He then dispatched

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

troops, chaperoned by his own personal secretary

Fern Hobbs Fern Hobbs (May 8, 1883 – April 10, 1964) was an American attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon, and Private Secretary to Oregon Governor Oswald West. She was noted for her ambition and several accomplishments as a young woman, and became the h ...

on January 2, 1914 to enforce the order and shut down the saloons."The Intrepid Miss Hobbs," ''Willamette Lawyer'', Spring 2007 The move made headlines across the country.

Sterilization and emasculation advocate

Known for his moral reforms, West pushed the 1913 Oregon legislature to adopt its first eugenic
law
in response to the

Portland Vice Scandal The Portland vice scandal (sometimes called the vice clique scandal, the vice crusade in contemporary reports, or inaccurately the YMCA scandal) refers to the discovery in November 1912 of a gay male subculture in the United States, U.S. city of Por ...

of 1912 involving the arrest of gay men in Portland, Oregon. West called for sterilization and

emasculation Emasculation is the removal of both the penis and the testicles, the external male sex organs. It differs from castration, which is the removal of the testicles only, although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The potential medical ...

of the "degenerates who slink, in all their infamy, through every city, contaminating the young, debauching the innocent, cursing the State" and others who would come before the state's courts for similar sexual transgressions in the future.

Reputation and legacy

Bend Mayor

George Palmer Putnam George Palmer Putnam (February 7, 1814 – December 20, 1872) was an American publisher and author. He founded the firm G. P. Putnam's Sons and '' Putnam's Magazine''. He was an advocate of international copyright reform, secretary for many yea ...

criticized West in a ''New York Times'' interview shortly after the Copperfield affair. Putnam asserted that the Governor's theatrical methods, and his inordinate attention to the affairs of local communities, detracted from the governance and national image of the state as a whole. West's time as governor is still felt in Oregon today because of his work to protect the state's natural resources. It was under his administration the beaches bordering the Pacific Ocean were protected for public use; the office of State Forester and the Bureau of

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

were established; and the Fish Commission and Game Commission were created. West served only one term, opting not to run for re-election in 1914. Instead, he moved his family to Portland where he practiced law. He was the Democratic party's nominee for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

in 1918, but lost to Charles L. McNary. After the run he largely limited his involvement in politics to spirited letters to the editorHolbrook, ''Wildmen'', p. 82 but was an influential adviser to Governor

Charles H. Martin Charles Henry Martin (October 1, 1863September 22, 1946) was an American Army officer and later politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Illinois, he had a 40-year career in the military including serving in conflicts from the Spanish–Am ...

in the 1930s. He retired from his law practice after suffering a heart attack in 1945. West died in Portland on August 22, 1960, and is buried in the Mount Crest Abbey Mausoleum in Salem, Oregon. Oswald West State Park on the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Colum ...

is named in his honor, as is West Hall, a student residence hall on the campus of

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...

References

External links

published articles by West
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Oswald 1873 births 1960 deaths Democratic Party governors of Oregon Canadian emigrants to the United States Politicians from Salem, Oregon Politicians from Portland, Oregon Burials at City View Cemetery Lawyers from Salem, Oregon American temperance activists