The 19th Oregon Legislative Assembly was scheduled to convene January 11, 1897. The Senate

Oregon State Senate

The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state,...

 organized, but the House

Oregon House of Representatives

The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....

 failed to do so. In the House, two factions formed, neither of which had enough members to constitute a quorum

Quorum

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

.

The Senate elected Joseph Simon

Joseph Simon

Joseph Simon was a German-born politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Bechtheim, Germany, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was one year old, settling in Portland, Oregon. A Republican, Simon served on the city council before election to the Oregon...

 as its president for the term, and conducted what business it could without the House's support. It stayed in session for 40 days. Due to the House's failure to organize, no legislation was passed during the session, and Oregon failed to elect a United States Senator. Henry L. Benson

Henry L. Benson

Henry Lamdin Benson was an American politician and jurist in the state of Oregon. He was the 44th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1915 to 1921 on the state's highest court...

 and E.J. Davis were the Speakers chosen by the two rival factions; neither served as Speaker during any other session.

The legislature held a special session

Special session

In a legislature, a special session is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year , such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period...

 in 1898, from September 26 to October 15. During that session, Simon was chosen as U.S. Senator, filling a seat that had been vacant for nearly two years. E. V. Carter served as House speaker during the special session.

William Paine Lord

William Paine Lord

William Paine Lord , was a Republican politician who served as the ninth Governor of Oregon from 1895 to 1899. The Delaware native previously served as the 27th associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, including three times as the Chief Justice of that court...

 was Governor during the 19th Legislative Assembly, serving the final two years of his single 4-year term.

Members of the House

Legislator	County	District	Party
H. L. Barkley	Woodburn, Marion	30	R
J. B. Bayer	Portland, Multnomah	36	R
Henry L. Benson Henry L. Benson Henry Lamdin Benson was an American politician and jurist in the state of Oregon. He was the 44th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1915 to 1921 on the state's highest court...	Grants Pass, Josephine	21	R
L. Bilyeu	Eugene, Lane	23	D
Jonathan Bourne, Jr.	Portland, Multnomah	37	R
J. T. Bridges	Drain, Douglas	14	R
J. N. Brown	Hopper, Morrow	35	R
Thomas Buckman	Bandon, Coos	10	P
E. W. Chapman	Brooks, Marion	31	R
Virgil Conn	Paisley, Lake, Klamath	22	R
David Craig	Macleay, Marion	32	R
A. M. Crawford	Roseburg, Douglas	13	R
J. E. David	Crow, Sherman	16	R
E. J. Davis	Milton, Umatilla	50	R
James N. Davis	Portland, Multnomah	38	R
C. S. Dustin	Long Creek, Grant, Harney	17	P
O. C. Emery	Newberg, Yamhill	60	U
John Gill	Chase, Yamhill, Tillamook	49	U
John E. Gratke	Astoria, Clatsop	7	D
H. G. Guild	Sheridan, Yamhill	59	U
J. S. Gurdane	Ridge, Umatilla	51	R
George H. Hill	Portland, Multnomah	39	R
H. A. Hogue	Portland, Multnomah	40	R
I. W. Hope	Vale, Malheur	29	R
J. J. Howser	Sams Valley, Jackson	19	P
Harvey S. Hudson	Gaston, Washington	56	R
Bela S. Huntington Bela S. Huntington Bela Shaw Huntington was an attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Illinois, he was educated in Vermont and later moved to Oregon where he was an attorney in The Dalles...	The Dalles, Wasco	47	R
C. E. Jennings	Joseph, Wallowa	55	R
F. N. Jones	Baker, Wasco	48	R
J. H. Kruse	Oswego, Clackamas	6	P
E. R. Lake	Corvallis, Benton	3	R
Nat Langell	Jacksonville, Jackson	20	R
I. J. Lee	Independence, Polk	45	D
G. W. Marsh	Cornelius, Washington	57	R
A. L. Maxwel	Portland, Multnomah	41	R
J. W. McAllister	La Grande, Union	53	P
Normal Merrill	Clatskanie, Columbia	9	R
R. W. Misener	Mitchell, Crook	12	D
McKinley Mitchell	Corvallis, Marion	33	R
T. M. Munkers	Scio, Linn	28	P
W. H. Nosler	Coquille City, Coos	11	P
George Ogle	Molalla, Clackamas	5	P
D. G. Palm	Lorane, Lane	24	R
D. L. Povey	Portland, Multnomah	42	R
George W. Riddle	Riddle, Douglas	15	R
W. T. Rigby	Pendleton, Umatilla	52	R
G. F. Schmidtlein	Woodville, Jackson	18	P
J. N. Smith	Salem, Marion	34	R
Johnson S. Smith	Linn	27
John M. Somers	Albany, Linn	26	R
F. S. Stanley	Perry, Union	54	R
N. J. Svindseth	Astoria, Clatsop	8	P
W. E. Thomas	Portland, Multnomah	43	R
J. R. C. Thompson	Tulatin, Washington	58	R
William Simon U'Ren	Milwaukie, Clackamas	4	P
T. J. Vaughan	Coburg, Lane	25	R
J. A. Veness	Independence, Polk	46	R
Henry Wagner	Portland, Multnomah	44	R
John Whitaker	Corvallis, Benton	2	P
D. W. Yoakum	Express, Baker	1	P

Members of the Senate

Legislator	County	District	Party
George W. Bates	Portland, Multnomah	19	R
George C. Brownell	Oregon City, Clackamas	3	R
John F. Calbreath	McMinnville, Yamhill	30	R
Tolbert Carter	Wells, Benton, Lincoln	2	R
Bernard Daly Bernard Daly Bernard Daly was an American country doctor, businessman, banker, rancher, state representative, state senator, county judge, and regent of Oregon State Agricultural College . He also ran for United States Congress, and was his party’s candidate for the United States Senate...	Lakeview, Crook, Klamath, Lake	8	D
S. A. Dawson	Albany, Linn	15	R
I. D. Driver	Eugene, Lane	13	R
Enoch B. Dufur	The Dalles, Gilliam, Sherman, Wasco	10	D
Alonzo Gesner Alonzo Gesner Alonzo Gesner was an American land surveyor, Indian agent, and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Illinois, he immigrated as a boy to the Oregon Country with is family where he became a deputy surveyor for the United States government...	Salem, Marion, Clackamas	4	R
A. W. Gowan	Burns, Harney, Grant, Morrow	11	R
C. E. Harmon	Grants Pass, Coos, Curry, Josephine	7	R
J. E. Haseltine	Portland, Multnomah	20	R
W. H. Hobson	Stayton, Marion	17	R
S. H. Holt	Phoenix, Jackson	12	P
Samuel Hughes	Forest Grove, Washington	29	R
Archie J. Johnson	Scio, Linn	16	R
Will R. King William R. King (judge) William R. King was an American politician and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 37th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court...	Baker City, Baker, Malheur	1	P
Donald Mackay	Portland, Multnomah	21	R
J. H. McClung	Eugene, Lane	14	R
John Mitchell	The Dalles, Wasco, Sherman	25	R
B. F. Mulkey	Dallas, Polk	24	R
Isaac Lee Patterson I. L. Patterson Isaac Lee "Ike" Patterson, was the 18th Governor of Oregon from 1927 to 1929. An Oregon native, he served in the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1918 to 1922, and was a farmer in the Willamette Valley.-Early life:...	Cincinnati (Eola), Marion, Polk	18	R
George W. Patterson George W. Patterson (Oregon politician) George W. Patterson was an American businessman and politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Ohio, he was a Republican member of the Oregon State Senate in the 1890s.-Early life:...	Hillsboro, Columbia, Tillamook, Washington	6	R
A. R. Price	Weston, Umatilla	26	R
A. W. Reed	Gardiner, Douglas	9	R
Ben Selling Ben Selling Ben Selling was a businessman, philanthropist, civil rights advocate, and politician Portland, Oregon, United States. He was a noted leader in the Jewish community, and he owned a clothing store in downtown Portland....	Portland, Multnomah	22	R
Joseph Simon Joseph Simon Joseph Simon was a German-born politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Bechtheim, Germany, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was one year old, settling in Portland, Oregon. A Republican, Simon served on the city council before election to the Oregon...	Portland, Multnomah	23	R
John H. Smith	Astoria, Clatsop	5	D
Thomas C. Taylor	Pendleton, Umatilla, Union	27	R
Justus Wade	Summerville, Union, Wallowa	28	P

See also

• John H. Mitchell
  John H. Mitchell
  John Hipple Mitchell, also known as John Mitchell Hipple, John H. Mitchell, or J. H. Mitchell was a controversial American lawyer and politician, who served as a Republican United States Senator from Oregon on three occasions between 1872 and 1905...
  
  , a U.S. Senator whose campaign for reelection was involved in the House's failure to organize.