Washington Territory. Governor (1887-1889 : Semple)

Eugene Semple was born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1840. His father was Gen. James Semple, an activist in the "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" dispute over the joint British-American occupation of Oregon, and later minister to Colombia. As soon as Eugene Semple graduated from the Cincinnati Law School he set out for Portland, Ore., where he began his law practice. In 1882, after serving as Oregon State Printer, clerk of the circuit court, and Portland Police Commissioner, he moved to Vancouver, Washington Territory. There he went into the lumber business and organized the Columbia Waterway Association. In 1887 Semple was appointed governor of Washington Territory by Pres. Grover Cleveland. He was a Democratic appointee in an overwhelmingly Republican territory, which made him immediately unpopular and increased the agitation for statehood which would allow the people of Washington to elect their own governor. During Semple's first year in office anti-Chinese riots required a firm stand by the governor for law and order. This was an unpopular stance but Semple had the support of the press and the unrest subsided without the violence which had occurred under Squire's administration.

The issue of women's suffrage reached a climax in 1887 when the territorial supreme court denied women the right to vote. The people of the territory were divided on the issue, but the advocates of women's suffrage were able to secure the passage of a new act designed to meet the court's objections to the old law. Governor Semple approved the act in spite of angry protests from the opposition. The new law never went into effect, however, since the state constitution, which omitted women's suffrage, superseded it. One of the most bitter controversies for Washington citizens, the enormous land grants held by the Northern Pacific Railroad, finally reached its climax during Semple's administration. The fight for the forfeiture of these lands was soon obscured by the issue of statehood and national politics. Adequate transportation had become an accomplished fact and it was recognized that the Northern Pacific had greatly contributed to the prosperity of Washington. After his term as governor, Semple moved to Seattle and organized the Seattle and Lake Washington Waterway Company. He died in San Diego in 1908.

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