Washington’s Warm Bucket of Spit Part One: Death of a Populist
When future President Calvin Coolidge informed his wife Grace that he had been selected as the running mate to 1920 Republican nominee for President Warren Harding, she responded “You’re not going to take it, are you?” This wasn’t a resounding endorsement in her husbands bid for the second highest office in the United States, but throughout history those that have been offered, or held the office of Vice President have continually expressed their boredom, and in some cases outright disdain for the office. John Adams, our nation’s first Vice President wrote to his wife that “My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” Even as the country grew and matured, the office of Vice President continued to be one that select men desired. When offered the post in 1840 for Whig Nominee William Henry Harrison, Daniel Webster remarked that “I do not propose to be buried until I am dead.” Into the 20th century, the number two spot proved to be no help to a mans political career, but more of a starting point to begin the agonizing slide into irrelevancy. President Franklin Roosevelt’s first Vice President (it is telling that he had a new Vice President for each of his four terms), John Nance Garner made what would go onto be one of the most famous declarations about the Vice Presidency saying, “its not worth a bucket of warm spit.” Even with the sharp and pessimistic reviews given throughout history, the job does comes with benefits, including a $235,000 salary, and a mansion in Washington D.C., which some may consider redeemable qualities, but our nations number two spot pales in comparison to the oftentimes irrelevant and thankless job of a state’s Lieutenant Governor.
The position of Lieutenant Governor is not uniform across the nation. Some states do not have the position written into their constitution, and some have even abolished it entirely. In Washington State, the position of Lieutenant Governor is similar to that of the Vice President. The Lieutenant Governor serves if the Governor is unable, presidents over the Senate, and chairs the powerful Senate Rules Committee. With the exception of the last duty, the position mirrors that of the Vice President, however there are differences that make the job, at times, borderline insignificant . Of all statewide elected positions, it is the only one that is technically not full time. When the legislature is out of session, the position has no constitutionally prescribed day to day duties. Though the Washington State Constitution requires the Lieutenant Governor to relocate to Olympia, there is no official residence for the Lieutenant Governor and their family. Finally, the salary consistently falls on the lower end of other statewide elected officials, which has led many that have held the position to work part time jobs when the legislature is out of session, much like a member of the State House and Senate. While all of this makes the job seem undesirable, like the Vice Presidency many people still seek the office. In Washington State’s 131 year history seventeen men have held the number two spot, while there have been twenty three governors. In addition to this, some of the most well known names in Washington State history have been Lieutenant Governor, and some held the position over many gubernatorial administrations.
Victor Myers: 1933–1953, four governors
John A. Cherberg: 1957–1989, five governors
Joel Pritchard: 1989–1997, two governors
Brad Owen: 1997–2017, three governors
Denny Heck: 2021-Present
In our nations history, fourteen vice Presidents have gone on to hold the position of President. Nine of these were due to a death or resignation, and five ran and won the position in their own right. In Washington State’s history only three Lieutenant Governors have been elevated to the position of Governor, the last time being over one hundred years ago. All of these instances were due to a death or resignation, and no Lieutenant Governor has gone on to win the position on their own. Over the next three articles the stories of these spontaneous gubernatorial transitions will be told. Each time it has caused political upheaval, and set off shockwaves throughout the state government. A peaceful transition of power is a cornerstone of our nation’s democracy, but what happens if one is thrust into the job, and they must pick up the pieces of another, sometimes ideologically different administration? This is where part one starts, with a sick governor, and exacerbated political divisions, on Christmas 1901.
Christmas 1901
On December 25th, 1901, a Christmas message from Governor John Rankin Rogers was printed in The Spokesman Review.
We of Washington face a wonderful future. Not only are we provided by a beneficent Creator with a great variety of natural advantages and opportunities, not only have we gathered here an energetic , enterprising, and intelligent population consisting of such a mixture of races and peoples which of itself must bring forth energetic prosperity, but in addition to these certain factors of future success disclosed in all past history pointing in a northwesterly direction indicting that the course of empire and march of progress point unquestionably to this region as the future theatre of great events…
Governor Rogers would go on to recap the previous year with a tone of optimism and unwavering excitement in what was ahead for the State of Washington. Unknown to the readers of this joyous Christmas message, Governor Rogers had been fighting pneumonia during the days leading up to Christmas, and was severely ill while writing to his constituents on the east side of the state. On Christmas day 1901 while the Governor continued to deteriorate in Olympia, a storm ripped through the Puget Sound, the likes of which the region had not seen in many years. The Everett Herald described it as “the worst (storm) ever known here” and went on to recount the damage, and deaths caused by the strong wide and unrelenting rain. The next morning on December 26th, 1901, Governor Rogers along with the residents of Western Washington awoke to fallen trees, broken lines of communications, and a sky dark with the remnants of the previous nights gale. While the storm, and its damage loomed heavy in the minds of those left to clean up its damage, it had became painfully obvious to those around him that the Governor was dying.
A Peculiar Populist
John Rankin Rogers was born September 4th, 1838 in Brunswick Maine. He was trained during his youth as a pharmacist in Boston, and eventually moved to Mississippi where he worked in a Jackson pharmacy. This would be the last place he used his pharmacy training until settling in Washington, as he would go on to move seventeen times over the next thirty years, calling eight states home before settling in Puyallup. In each of these towns Rogers started a new career. He was a teacher, a Postmaster, a newspaper editor, a hardware store owner, and a organizer for the farmers alliance, an early branch of the Populist Party. Finally, in 1890 at age 52 Rogers, his wife Sarah, and their five children settled in Puyallup, where he opened a drug store. Throughout his early nomadic life, Rogers developed a set of political principles informed by his first hand experiences in contrasting parts of the country. These political principles would become more than just beliefs to him, they became who he was. Once settled in Washington, Rogers took these guiding principles and put them into practice by running for the Washington State House of Representatives in 1895, running and winning on the Populist Party Ticket.
Historian Karel Bicha labeled Rogers as “a peculiar populist” in her assessment of his contributions to the populist movement of the late nineteenth century. While Rogers was fascinated by the writings of Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine, particularly their writings on natural law, and preservation of the agrarian way of life, he had one major difference from most populists of the day, he was a strict individualist. Rogers once wrote that “the world exists for us singly, or it has no existence- our world is an ego centric one.” This was a major departure from mainstream Populist thought at this time. Nevertheless, the movement embraced him, and he went to Olympia armed with his guiding principles, to create relief and positive changes for those living Jefferson’s quintessential agrarian lifestyle.
John Rankin Rogers had a healthy distrust of major institutions. This included schools, churches, and the government as a whole. This would be one of the major ironies of his life, as he would go on to be remembered for being a leader in government, and his biggest accomplishment while in the legislature was a landmark reform to the public school system. Dubbed the “Barefoot School Boy Law” this act authored and advocated by Rogers attempted to even the playing field between rural and urban schools, requiring urban school districts to help fund rural school districts that did not have as large of a tax base. The bill was opposed by Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma at the time, who believed their school systems were already taxed enough. Despite the strong opposition by the large cities, Rogers was able to get it passed and ride that wave of success right into the Governors office.
A Useless Majority
The election of 1896 in Washington was something the likes of which the state had never seen, and has subsequently not seen in the over one hundred years since. Dismayed Democrats, Republicans at odds with their party nicknamed the “Silver Republicans”, and Populists came together to form a “fusion ticket.” This ticket became popular throughout the state, sweeping Populist Rogers into the Governors office, as the only third party Governor in Washington State history to this point, and Thurston Daniels, another Populist into the Lieutenant Governor’s office. In the State House the Populists won 45 of the 77 seats giving Governor Rogers a clear mandate from the voters, who just coming out of the Depression of the 1890’s wanted relief.
However promising the times seemed for Rogers upon entering office in January of 1897, he soon learned the realities of divided government. With four major parties in both chambers, and a Populist Party split down the middle on just about every issue, nothing got done. The Populists could not unite to vote on anything, costing them both Senate appointments, and losing the battle over rail rates by one vote. The Governor was furious with his state government, and in a letter to a news paper editor he stated “One of the most disheartening revelations… has been the duplicity, the utter worthlessness and the criminality of loud shouters for ‘reform’ and ‘rights of humanity’ when placed in positions of trust.” With a house divided, and seemingly unable to get his agenda passed, Rogers pivoted and implemented an idea first conceived by former governor John H. McGraw, a man Rogers loathed. This was to centralize power for the states five largest operations (the mental hospitals, health, prisons', reform schools, and soldiers homes)into one place, the State Board of Control. The Governor tapped future Governor and Chair of the Pierce County Populist Party Ernest Lister to head up the operation, but this, like so many other things caused great division.
The creation of the Board of Control upset everyone. A faction of the Populist Party became upset that “democracy had been compromised” as historian George Scott put it, and those Populists who didn’t seem to care about the precedent it set were upset that their party did not have more seats on the Board. This enraged the Governor, who proceeded to fire those Populist members of State Board of Control remarking that “I wish I had not an appointment to make.” He even went on to fire the State Treasurer as this issue of patronage appointments wore on. The voters who supported the Fusion Ticket, and a third party candidate hell bent on preserving a Jeffersonian inspired rural lifestyle took note of the ineptitude in Olympia, and in 1900 they had their voices heard. At the ballot box that year, the voters gave virtually every office back to the Republicans, both chambers of the Legislature, and every state wide elected position, except for one, the Governor. John Rankin Rogers, who had now left the Populist Party to become a Democrat had spent the last four years battling to get anything accomplished with a useless majority, and the voters placed the blame on every other politician in Olympia, except Rogers. Unfortunately for the Governor, and the new opposition government, he would not have much time to live up to the magnificent amount of trust the voters had just place in him.
Boxing Day 1901
By December 26th Governor Rogers had been suffering from pneumonia for six days, his condition steadily worsening as the Christmas holiday drew near. On that morning among the wreckage of the previous nights historic gale, those close to the Governor awoke to assess the situation inside their home. It was clear to them that Rogers condition had taken a turn for the worse over night, and that morning doctors were called in, and Rogers family and friends gathered at his bedside in his Olympia home.
Upon the arrival of his medical team, Doctors gave Rogers “powerful stimulants” that kept him in a “semi-conscious” state for most of the morning and early afternoon. During which time the Governor spoke incoherently about state business, including the rail road commission, and the construction of the new Capitol building. Reports say that as he slipped in and out of consciousness he would repeat “I will build that building, I will build that building.” At one point he was able to recognize State Control Board Chair, Ernest Lister, but he could not speak when he tried. Around four o’clock Rogers slipped into another “semi-conscious” state, eventually becoming unconscious. At around 8pm on the evening of December 26th, 1901, surrounded by his wife, their children, and his friends, Governor John Rankin Rogers passed away. His Christmas message to his constituents the day before in The Spokesman Review would be his last public message.
Records indicate that immediately after the Governor’s passing his private secretary sent the news to Lieutenant Governor Henry McBride, who was still on a Christmas vacation away from Olympia, at his home in Mount Vernon. Due to the storm that had ripped through the Pacific Northwest the night before, lines of communication were unable to reach the new Governor in the hours following Governor Rogers death. In The Seattle Post-Intelligencer the next morning it was speculated that McBride could be Governor without his knowledge. A telegram from McBride was not received until 3:00pm the following afternoon, nineteen hours into his term simply stating:
“Have just received dispatch announcing death of Governor Rogers. Please express to family of Governor Rogers for me, my deepest sympathy.”
Henry McBride arrived by train to Olympia at Noon on December 28th. Once in the capital city, McBride was met with a mountain of issues that required his attention. A funeral had to be planned for Governor Rogers, there were a number of gubernatorial appointments that needed to be made, and while this was all going on he had to find time to get sworn in. A Vice President, and a Lieutenant Governor always know that at any moment they could go from near irrelevancy, to the leader of an entire population of people. Even with this idea in their head, the immediate, and unexpected ascendancy to office is something no one can plan for. This was where Henry McBride the new Governor of Washington State, and the first Lieutenant Governor to become Governor, found himself.
Capable, Colorless, and Deliberate
Henry McBride was born February 7th, 1856 in Farmington Utah. His place of birth is significant, as he was the first Governor of Washington to be born in the west (It wouldn’t be until 1933 that Washington had a Governor born in the state). McBride studied Ministry at Trinity College in Connecticut, but his short life almost ended there, as while in Connecticut he contracted malaria. The sickness took a toll on him physically, and mentally, forcing him to transfer to Hobart College in New York closer to family, and all but ruining his plans of going to theological school after graduating. While in New York his health continued to deteriorate, and he was advised to return west by the College President, as he did not expect the young McBride to live much longer. So, after attending two colleges over the span of three years, in 1880 McBride returned west, settling in California. According to McBride, it took him two years to completely recuperate from the malaria in California, but thankfully the illness that forced him out of college did not take his life.
In 1882, healthy once again, McBride relocated to Oak Harbor where he took a job as a school teacher. While he was teaching on Whidbey Island, McBride became interested in studying law. At the time, the best place to do that was La Conner, the seat of Skagit County government. Reinvigorated, and with a new found purpose, McBride moved to La Conner and began a three year law study. During this time McBride still returned to Oak Harbor daily to teach. Though strenuous to go back and forth while studying law, historian Edmond Meany writes that those years “were happy” for McBride. It was also during this period that he met his wife, Alice Garrett of Coupeville, and they were married in La Conner in 1884 the same year he was admitted to the bar.
Later that year, Skagit County voted to move their county seat from La Conner to Mount Vernon, where it still is located. The battle between the two cities was fierce, and McBride advocated tirelessly for his home of La Conner. He went as far as camping out at the polling place during the vote to be sure only residents of Skagit County were voting, as he was concerned Mount Vernon supporters would bring in people from outside the county to vote. Unfortunately for McBride, Mount Vernon won the vote, and the seat was moved. Because of this, most legal work was moved with it, and this forced McBride and Alice to move to the new county seat in 1887. The following year, McBride became the Prosecutor for Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom Counties, as during this time the population did not necessitate a separate prosecutor for each county. After one term he opted not to run for re-election, however, in 1891, the state redrew the boundaries for Superior Courts, creating a court comprised of Skagit and Island Counties. On March 10th of that year McBride was appointed the Superior Court Judge for the new two county zone which included his old home county, and his new one.
This was a job McBride enjoyed, and when his appointment expired he decided to run for a full term as a Republican. He ran an extensive campaign to retain his seat, riding around both counties on a bike meeting voters, and spreading his message. While it may only be two counties, the span between Clinton and Conway is over 70 Miles. His devotion to the job, and the desire to stay on the bench must have resonated with voters, as he was re-elected in 1892 to a full term. Four years later, at the end of that term, still enjoying his job as Superior Court Judge, McBride ran for another term. Unfortunately the election of 1896 that swept John Rankin Rogers into office via the “fusion ticket” also swept many Republicans across the state out of office, including Judge McBride, sending him back to private practice in Mount Vernon. He did not stay out of politics long, in 1898 he was elected Chair of the Republican Party for Skagit County, where he became a popular leader in Republican circles. His tenure as Chair resulted in victories for the party up and down the ballot in Skagit County that year. His success in that capacity helped him gain support for the next move in his political career. To this point he had only run for office in a few counties, but now he had his eye on something bigger.
At the 1900 Washington State Republican Party Convention, Henry McBride was Skagit County’s nominee for Governor. He had led the party to victory in the 1898 elections, and due to his successful career as a lawyer, he had gained statewide notoriety. Unfortunately, as is the case today, Seattle had considerable influence over the political process, and McBride was beat in his race for the nomination by State Senator John M. Frink of Seattle. The Seattle Times reported that the convention “appeased” Skagit County by awarding McBride the number two spot, the nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Henry McBride and Skagit County would go on to have the last laugh, as in November of that year the Republicans swept the entire ballot, with the exception of the Governor’s race. Frink was out of office, and McBride was in. The man that Historian George Scott described as “Capable, colorless, and deliberate” would serve not even a year as Lieutenant Governor, before the death of Governor Rogers on December 26th, 1901 elevated him to become the fourth Governor of the State of Washington.
A State in Mourning
On Saturday December 28th, 1901, two days after the death of Governor John Rankin Rogers, Lieutenant Governor Henry McBride took the oath of office at 1:30 in the afternoon in the Supreme Court Chamber, administered by Chief Justice James B. Reavis. The small ceremony taking place an hour after McBride arrived in Olympia, lasted just over a minute. Under normal circumstances this event would have been accompanied by grand balls, inauguration speeches, and visitors from across the state, this was not the case for Governor McBride’s ceremony. The capital city, and the state, was in mourning. There were dignitaries in Olympia for the event, however their purpose in coming to town was to pay their respects to the late Governor Rogers and his family.
Four days after McBride took the oath of office, on New Years Day 1902, Governor Rogers was laid to rest in Puyallup. The day of remembrance for the Governor began at 9:00am that morning in Olympia at the Rogers family home for a private service hosted by Revered R.M. Hayes. Here family and friends, along with Governor McBride gathered for a small, intimate ceremony. After the service at the Rogers home concluded, a funeral train carried Governor Roger’s casket, along with other mourners to Tacoma, where Rogers laid in the Courthouse downtown for one hour. During that hour over 10,000 citizens came to the courthouse, and lined the streets to pay their respects. The Mayor ordered all streetcars stopped while the funeral train was in town. The next stop for the funeral procession was Rogers home town of Puyallup. The entire downtown had been decorated with flowers and black cloth to mourn the loss of their hometown Governor. Upon the trains arrival, the funeral party made their way to the Rogers home where another service was held. Every stop along the way, the military was stationed to pay their respects. After the ceremony in Puyallup, the day concluded at Woodbine Cemetery, where John Rankin Rogers was laid to rest with full military honors.
A State Government in Accord
Governor Rogers was the only non-Republican to win a statewide election in 1900. The House and Senate both had Republican majorities, and with the ascension of Republican Henry McBride to the Governor’s office, the state government was “in accord” politically. In the days leading up to the former Governor’s funeral McBride declined to answer questions regarding his policy plans, out of respect for Rogers and his family. Questions regarding the State Control Board, Gubernatorial appointments, and the construction of a new Capitol, were plastered across the front page of every paper the week between Christmas and New Year. No one knew what McBride’s intentions were, even those within his own party.
Many of Rogers political appointees signaled in the days after McBride took office that they would offer their resignations to the new Governor, including the State Labor Commissioner who had been Governor Rogers son in law. Other important jobs that needed to be filled were seats on the state Grain Commission, state Fish Commission, state Dairy and Pure Foods Commissioner, state Horticulture Commissioner, state Capitol Commissioner, state Mine Inspector, and members of the boards of regents to all state schools. In addition to this, J.H. Pelletier, Private Secretary and right hand to the Governor offered his resignation to the incoming Governor, being one of the most important vacancies requiring McBride’s attention. However important all these positions were, the most controversial part of Rogers tenure had now bled into McBride’s administration, and that was the State Board of Control. There was much speculation about what should be done with the new body, including some who speculated McBride would do away with it all together. Upon taking office the board consisted of two Democrat members, and one Republican member. McBride remarked that it would “be an embarrassment to my administration” to allow the Democrats to continue to control the board that consumed so much power in state government. Because of this, Democrat board member Henry Drum offered his resignation to McBride within the first few days of his administration.
Henry McBride would go on to be a stable and highly capable Governor. Historian Edmond Meany remarked that “changes were made slowly and with deliberation” in the McBride administration. He would go on to work well with Republicans and Democrats alike in the state Legislature for the next three years. However, the issue that lead to his down fall was the railroads. McBride was concerned that the railroad lobby was far too influential, and that they were buying politicians. His “top priority” in office was to create a State Railroad Commission to act as a check on their power. Surprisingly enough Democrats and Republicans in the State Legislature agreed, initially. When the measures proposed by McBride came to a vote, suddenly the politicians that had been in favor of a Railroad Commission were now against it. This is a hill McBride was willing to die on, and he fought tooth and nail through his term to get it done. Unfortunately he was unable to get it done by the time the election of 1904 came around. At the Republican convention that year he made the establishment of a Railroad Commission a pillar of his re-election campaign. While McBride was confident in his chances “taking the issue to the voters”, the Republican Party was heavily influenced by the Railroad lobby at the convention, and the nomination was instead given to Albert Mead of Whatcom County. Mead would go on to win the general election, and the Republicans once again swept state government that year.
After his term in office, McBride moved to Juanita Beach on Lake Washington where he continued to practice law, and bought stakes in local lumber mills. Remaining active in politics over the next decade McBride would once again seek the Republican nomination for Governor in 1908 losing to Samuel Cosgrove of Pomeroy. In 1916, over ten years after leaving the office he again threw his hat in the race. This time McBride secured the nomination, but lost the election to his former Democrat foe from the State Board of Control, Ernest Lister. McBride would continue to be an active citizen, writing columns for local newspapers frequently, until his death at Juanita Beach on October 7th, 1937. He was laid to rest next to his wife Alice at the Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in Seattle.
During his term as the United States first Vice President, John Adams said, “I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything.” Adams, who as noted, understood the painfully mundane role that was the Vice Presidency, was also keenly aware of what the position was meant for, and the implications that accompanied it. Adams knew that in one breath, his life, and the political future of a fledgling nation could be altered forever. The same could be said for Henry McBride. There are no quotes, or even speculation about how he liked the job of Lieutenant Governor, but it would not be a stretch of the imagination to think that McBride was also aware of the significance his job had. The death of Governor Rogers brought with it changes to every corner of the state government. The State Board of Control, which had a remarkable amount of power shifted, the state agencies shifted, and for the first time in state history a legitimate effort to control the railroad lobby was undertaken, an issue few politicians dared to touch. Judging by the political fate that Governor Henry McBride had after attempting to reform that system, their trepidation regarding the issue is understandable. The week between Christmas and New Year 1902 changed Washington State in many ways. Henry McBride was thrust into a position of great power over night, and was responsible for dealing with the political fall out that came with it. When glancing at a history book, or timeline of state history, events like this sudden transfer of power can be overlooked and sadly understudied, but this story, and stories like this one are integral to understanding the political climate of the time, and how Washington State progressed to be where it is today. It may have been one week, but the consequences of that one week were felt for years to come.
Historians Note: This will be the first installment in a series of articles that look at the three times in Washington State history when a Lieutenant Governor has ascended to the office of Governor due to a death or resignation.
