Charles A. Sprague

Charles Arthur Sprague ( born November 12, 1887 in Lawrence, Kansas, † March 13, 1969 in Salem, Oregon ) was an American politician and from 1939 to 1943 the 22nd Governor of the State of Oregon.

Early years and rise in Oregon

Sprague was born in Kansas and grew up in Columbus Junction ( Iowa), where he went to the local schools. He later attended then the Monmouth College in Illinois. In addition, he worked part for regional newspapers to his maintenance fund can. When the money is still not enough, he interrupted his studies and took a job as a teacher at a high school in Iowa. He then continued his studies at Monmouth College, where he edited a student newspaper.

Since that time, he was enthusiastic about journalism. After finishing his studies in 1910 he moved to the state of Washington, where he worked in Waitsburg School Board ( Superintendent ) was. He held from 1910 to 1913 this office. Between 1913 and 1915 he was Deputy Minister of Education ( Assistant superintendent of public instructions ) of Washington State. In 1915 he became editor of a weekly newspaper in Ritzville.

In 1925, he earned a share of the " Corvallis Gazette Times " in Oregon. By the year 1937, he worked on the newspaper as a manager. In 1929 he acquired the majority interest in appearing in Salem influential newspaper " Oregon Statesman ". There he was in the course of time the sole owner and editor of this Journal. For the rest of his life Sprague should remain connected to journalism. Politically, he was a member of the Republican Party. Since he had become a state widely known through his newspaper, he was nominated by his party for the gubernatorial elections of 1938 and subsequently also elected to this office. His election victory was aided, however, by a split within the Democratic Party.

Governor of Oregon

Charles Sprague took up his new post on January 9, 1939. As Governor, he was able to reduce the budget deficit continues to expand the provision of public services and ensure social peace between employers and workers in the country. He campaigned for the protection of forests. On the other hand, he disappointed his party friends by, rejected many of their bills that supported only individual interests with his veto. This even led to an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the governor of his duties. However, he had lost in his party 's backing.

In Sprague's tenure of the entry of the United States falls into the Second World War. Like everywhere else in the United States had to be converted to the armament requirement in Oregon production. Safety precautions were taken. On the west coast was about the fear of a Japanese invasion after the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Young men were mustered and collected for the armed forces. Because of his differences with his party was defeated Sprague already in the internal primaries for governor election in 1942. He had on January 11, 1943 to give up his office.

Further CV

After his tenure Sprague remained interested in the events of his time. He turned back to his papers and collected donations for the war effort. In 1944 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In his many critical newspaper articles he was responsible for all political sides open. He supported President Harry S. Truman dismissed General Douglas MacArthur as this. He criticized the internment of Japanese -born Americans as well as Joseph McCarthy and its related Committee on Un-American Activities. 1952 Sprague was one of the American delegates at the UN General Assembly. In 1954 he was the national railway committee, 1955 he was a member of a committee to monitor labor conditions in nuclear power plants.

For the rest of his life he remained active journalist. He was an opponent of alcohol abuse and refused to advertise for hard alcohol in his newspapers. Charles Sprague died in 1969. He was married to Blanche Chamberlain, with whom he had two children.