PENNSYLVANIA 895 



through the efforts of Governor West. (See articles in Collier's, May 4, 1912, and Review of 

 Reviews (New York), Jan. 1912), 



History. The legislature in 1911 was Republican (by majority of 80 in joint session) 

 but the governor, elected for the term 1911-15, was a Democrat, Oswald West (b. 1873), 

 who had been state land agent in 1903-07 and a member of the state railroad commis- 

 sion in 1907-10. He took a particular interest in the state penal institutions, introducing 

 the "honour" system referred to above and putting convicts to work on roads and in 

 state institutions. In June 1911 he personally captured a convict who escaped while 

 at work at the state Home for the Feeble-Minded at Salem. He supported the meas- 

 ure abolishing capital punishment, defeated in November 1912. Pending the result 

 of the vote on this measure he had reprieved all condemned murderers. On December 13 

 four such criminals were hanged. The political history of the state centres around its 

 direct legislation rather than the issues of the old political parties. Many of the more 

 radical measures were drafted (and strongly urged) by the People's Power League of 

 Oregon, the secretary of which is William Simon U'Ren (b. 1859), the leading exponent 

 of "Oregon" ideas. The publicity pamphlet published by the state and containing all 

 measures (and arguments thereon) to be voted upon by the people in 1912 contained 

 256 pages exclusive of local acts inserted in copies for six counties of the state. The 

 regular ballot was 18 X 34 in. In the presidential primaries Woodrow Wilson received 

 9,588 votes to 7,857 for Clark, and Roosevelt 28,905 to 22,491 for LaFollette and 20,517 

 for Taft ; but the Progressives failed to re-nominate for United States senator Jonathan 

 Bourne, Jr. (b. 1855), president of the National Progressive Republican League and as 

 well known outside the state as U'Ren was within it as a promoter of direct legislation. 

 The Progressives nominated for United States senator A. E. Clarke, the Republicans, 

 Ben Selling, president of the state senate, and the Democrats, Harry Lane. Bourne 

 was nominated by petition and appeared on the ballot as an "Independent Progressive." 

 The election was a close contest between Selling and Lane, but the latter was successful, 

 and his choice was ratified by the legislature, January 21, 1913. Two Republicans and 

 i Republican-Progressive were elected representatives 1 in Congress; in the 62nd Congress 

 there were 2 Republicans the state has 3 representatives under the new apportionment. 

 The new legislature will have a Republican majority of 62 (26 in senate and 36 in house). 

 Woodrow Wilson carried the state, receiving 47,064 votes to 37,600 for Roosevelt, 34,- 

 673 for Taft and 13,343 for Debs (who had 7,339 in 1908). The Portland Oregonian, 

 which has consistently opposed initiative, referendum, and recall, was the only im- 

 portant Taft organ. 



On December 19, 1912, at Warrenton, the first woman was elected mayor of a 

 municipality in the state; she received a plurality of only 16 votes. In November 1912 

 Baker voted to retain its commission charter, and a commission charter for Portland 

 was defeated by a narrow margin. 



Bibliography. General Laws, (Salem, 1911); departmental reports; the official IQII 

 Blue Book (ibid.); Wm. I. Marshall, Acquisition of Oregon and the Long Suppressed Evidence 

 about Marcus Whitman (2 vols. Seattle, 1911); T. T. Geer (governor in 1899-1903), Fifty 

 Years in Oregon (New York, 1911); A. H. Eaton, The Oregon System; the Story of Direct 

 Legislation in Oregon (New York, 1912); J. D. Barnett, "The Operation of the Recall in 

 Oregon" in American Political Science Review (Feb., 1912); Men of Oregon (Portland, 1911). 



PENNSYLVANIA 2 



Population (1910) 7,665,111 (21.6% more than in 1900). In .density (171 to the 

 sq. m. ) the state ranked 6th. The foreign-born whites increased from 15.6% in 1900 

 to 18.8% in 1910, native-born whites decreasing proportionally. The percentage of 

 negroes remained the same (2.5). The urban population increased from 54.7% of the 

 total (in 190 places each having more than 2,500 inhabitants) in 1900 to 60.4% (in 

 263 such places) in 1910. Rural (unincorporated) territory contained 36.8% of the 

 total in 1900 and 32% in 1910. Of the urban population nearly one-half was in two 



1 There was one Progressive nominee for representative. 



z See E. B. xxi, 105 et seq. 



