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 raised in Columbus Junction ( Iowa on), where he went to the local schools. He later attended Monmouth College in Illinois . He also worked by the hour for regional newspapers in order to be able to finance his living. When the money was still not enough, he interrupted his studies and took a position as a teacher at a high school in Iowa. He then continued his studies at Monmouth College, where he edited a student newspaper.

Since then he has been enthusiastic about journalism. After completing his studies in 1910, he moved to Washington State , where he was school councilor ( superintendent ) in Waitsburg . He held this office from 1910 to 1913. Between 1913 and 1915 he was Assistant Superintendent of Public Instructions for Washington State. In 1915 he became the editor of a weekly newspaper in Ritzville .

In 1925 he acquired a stake in the Corvallis Gazette Times in Oregon. Until 1937 he worked as a manager on this newspaper. As early as 1929 he acquired the majority in the influential newspaper "Oregon Statesman", which appears in Salem. There he became the sole owner and editor of this paper in the course of time. Sprague would remain committed to journalism for the rest of his life. Politically, he was a member of the Republican Party . Since he was known nationwide through his newspaper, he was nominated by his party for the gubernatorial election of 1938 and then also elected to this office. However, his election victory was also favored by a split within the Democratic Party .

Governor of Oregon

Charles Sprague took up his new office on January 9, 1939. As governor, he was able to further reduce the budget deficit, expand public service services and ensure social peace between employers and employees in the country. He also campaigned for the protection of the forests. On the other hand, he disappointed his party friends by vetoing many of their bills that only supported individual interests. It even led to an unsuccessful attempt to remove the governor from office. However, he had lost his support in his party.

During Sprague's tenure, the United States entered World War II . As everywhere in the USA, production in Oregon also had to be converted to armaments requirements. Safety precautions have been taken. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, fears of a Japanese invasion spread on the west coast . Young men were drafted and drafted for the armed forces. Due to his differences with his party, Sprague was already defeated in the internal primaries for the gubernatorial election of 1942. He had to give up his office on January 11, 1943.

Another résumé

After his tenure, Sprague remained interested in what went on at the time. He returned to his newspapers and collected donations for the war effort. In 1944 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate . In his many critical newspaper articles he was open to all political sides. He supported President Harry S. Truman when he dismissed General Douglas MacArthur . He criticized the internment of Japanese-born Americans as well as Joseph McCarthy and the associated committee for un-American activities . In 1952 Sprague became one of the American delegates to the UN General Assembly . In 1954 he was on the national railway committee, in 1955 he was a member of a committee for the observation of working conditions in nuclear power plants.

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

Web links

• Arthur Sprague in the National Governors Association (English)
• Oregon State Library ( Memento November 25, 2004 on the Internet Archive )
• Charles A. Sprague in the database of Find a Grave (English)