OREGON 



4408 



OREGON 



Government and History 



Government. Oregon is one of the most 

 democratic commonwealths of the American 

 Union. All citizens, male and female, huvo 

 suffrage, but since 1916 foreigners who have 

 taken out only their first naturalization papers 

 cannot vote. They must now be full citizens 

 before they can cast their ballots. The initia- 

 tive and referendum have been in force since 

 1903; all officials of the state are subject to 

 recall. In 1901, years before the passage of 

 the amendment for direct election of United 

 States Senators, Oregon began to nominate 

 those officials by direct primaries. The pres- 

 ent and original constitution of the state went 

 into effect February 14, 1859. Amendments may 

 be proposed in either house or by the people, 

 and must be accepted by both houses and the 

 voters before becoming part of the constitu- 

 tion. Constitutional conventions may be called 

 only with the approval of the regular voters. 



The legislature consists of a senate of thirty 

 members, elected for four years, and a house 

 of representatives of sixty members, elected 

 for two years. Sessions are held biennially, on 

 the second Monday of January. 



The executive power is vested in a governor, 

 secretary of state and state treasurer, elected 

 for four years. The governor may serve only 

 two terms in twelve years, and the secretary 

 of state and state treasurer are not eligible for 

 immediate reelection. 



The judiciary consists of a supreme court, 

 comprising one chief justice and six associate 

 judges, elected for six years; circuit courts, each 

 having one judge, who holds sessions twice 

 yearly in each county; county or probate 

 courts, having one judge elected for six years; 

 and justices of the peace. The law provides 

 that the most able and permanent citizens of 

 the district shall serve as jurors, and that civil 

 verdicts may be rendered by three-fourths of 

 the jury. 



Local administration is by counties. Munici- 

 palities also exercise the power of initiative and 

 referendum. Campaign expenses are limited by 

 a corrupt-practice act. Workmen's compensa- 

 tion laws have been passed, and laws regulating 

 the employment of women and children are 

 made by an industrial welfare commission. 



Exploration and Early Settlement. In the 

 sixteenth century English and Spanish naviga- 

 tors, seeking a northwest passage, explored the 

 coast of Oregon. In 1774 it was taken formal 

 possession of by Juan Perez, a Spaniard, and in 



1778 Captain Cook explored Nootka Sound. In 

 the eighteenth century the great river of the 

 Northwest was mentioned by Jonathan Carver 

 in a history of travels and was called the "Ore- 

 gon," this name being later given to the terri- 

 tory which it drained. Robert Gray, an Ameri- 

 can trader, finally discovered, in 1791, the long- 

 sought "Oregon" and renamed it the Columbia. 

 Thus it is the Columbia to which Bryant refers 

 in Thanatopsis, when he speaks of 

 the continuous woods 



Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound, 



Save his own dashings. 



Hudson's Bay traders established posts along 

 the river and started to trade with the Orient. 

 In 1809 the Northwest Company, a British or- 

 ganization, be"gan trade on the Fraser River 

 in British Columbia, and in 1811 Astoria and 

 other posts were founded by the Pacific Fur 

 Company, under John Jacob Astor. It was 

 here that the great fortunes of the Astor family 

 wore created. 



The "Oregon Question." During the War of 

 1812 the British took possession of Astoria and 

 renamed it Fort George. After the restoration 

 of peace, by the Treaty of Ghent, the dispute 

 over the northwest boundary arose, involving 

 the "Oregon Question." The treaty provided 

 for the return of all territory taken during the 

 war. The British surrendered Astoria, and both 

 countries agreed to a joint occupation of all 

 the Northwest Territory. Through the Louisi- 

 ana Purchase and Gray's discovery of the Co- 

 lumbia the Americans laid claim to all of the 

 territory between 42 and 54 40' N. latitude, 

 and began the settlement of the Columbia Val- 

 ley. 



la 1834 Jason Lee, a Methodist missionary 

 from Missouri, established missions in the Wil- 

 lamette Valley. He was followed by bthers, 

 notably Henry Spalding and Marcus Whitman 

 (which see). In 1838 one hundred and fifty 

 people went to Oregon from Missouri by way 

 of Cape Horn. The population was again in- 

 creased by the "Great Immigration" of 1843, 

 when about nine hundred people assembled at 

 Independence, Mo., and crossed the plains by 

 wagon train, opening the famous "Oregon 

 Trail." 



The provisional government which had been 

 established in 1841 came into conflict with the 

 Hudson's Bay Company, and the boundary 

 question again arose. In the national Demo- 

 cratic convention of 1844, which declared the 



