Charles Henry Martin

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For the North Carolina congressman of the same name, see Charles H. Martin (congressman).

Charles Henry Martin (b. 1863 near Albion, Illinois d. 1946 Portland, Oregon) served as the governor of Oregon, from 1935 to 1939, after a 40-year career in the military. From 1931 to 1935, Martin was the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district.

[edit] Military

Martin attended Ewing College (Ewing, Illinois) for two years until he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy, He would actively serve in the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and Boxer Rebellion after graduating from West Point in 1887. Martin was a division commander of the famous Blackhawk Division and the U.S. V Corps in the Argonne during World War I and served as the U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff from 1922 to 1924. He was honored with the Distinguished Service Medal and two citations for bravery in action and retired from the Army as a major general on October 1, 1927, after commanding the Panama Canal department for three years.

[edit] Politics

Martin embarked on his second career after retiring to Portland, Oregon with his wife. From March 4, 1931, to Jan. 3, 1935, he served as a conservative Democratic Representative to the U.S. Congress from Oregon's Third Congressional District.

Martin was elected governor, in 1934, during a time of intense labor turmoil and the middle of the Great Depression, earning a reputation for restoring state finances. The major issues that Martin dealt with during his time in office were economic recovery from the Great Depression, reconstruction of the State Capital, the planning and construction of the Bonneville Dam, and the development of statewide port and highway infrastructures. When the Depression eased, he opposed the full restoration of wage levels for state employees, who had suffered a 50 percent pay cut.

Martin grew in his vocal opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal, especially to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the President's labor policy. In 1937, the NLRB failed to settle a jurisdictional dispute between the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) that had closed all Portland sawmills. Martin stepped in and held his own elections, which led to the reopening of the mills. He made himself the enemy of what many saw as corrupt labor leaders, particularly by his appointment of Assistant Attorney General Ralph E. Moody to prosecute many union people accused of arson and assault.

He was often quoted for his rephrasing of President Roosevelt's famous pronouncement on fear, saying, "We have nothing to fear from the future except our own foolishness and slothfulness." His criticism of President Roosevelt, however, cost Martin a bitterly contested bid for the Democratic Party's Oregon gubernatorial nomination in 1938.

After losing the nomination, Martin retired from active politics to his Portland home. He died, on September 22, 1946, and was interred at River View Cemetery in Portland.

[edit] External links

• Entry from Congressional Biographical Database
• Official biography from State of Oregon website

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