Arthur R. Gould
Encyclopedia
Arthur Robinson Gould was a United States Senator from Maine
.
Born in Corinth, Maine
, he attended the common schools and East Corinth Academy. He moved first to Bangor, Maine
, where he opened a candy factory and met and married his wife, and then to Presque Isle, Maine
, in 1887. There he engaged in the lumber business and built power plants and an electric railroad. He was president of the Aroostook Valley Railroad
from 1902 to 1946.
He served in the Maine Senate
from 1921 to 1922, and was elected on September 13, 1926, as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Bert M. Fernald
and served from November 30, 1926, to March 3, 1931. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1930. During his time in office he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Immigration for the 71st Congress.
He died at Presque Isle and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine
.
's influence in Maine politics. Klan infiltration of the Republican Party split Maine Republicans, with klansmen finding their champion in Maine Governor Owen Brewster
, and their chief opponents in former Governor Percival P. Baxter
and Senator Frederick Hale
. Gould, whose wife was Catholic, ran on an anti-Klan platform after receiving the Republican nomination for Senator, which caused Gov. Brewster to take the unprecedented step of denouncing his own party's candidate in the general election.
The Maine special election was of national importance because the U.S. Senate was evenly split along party lines (47 to 47). Maine Democrats, however, deserted their party in droves to vote for Gould, in order to break the power of the Republican Klan faction. In an unprecedented outcome, Gould carried every city and county in the state. The Chairman of the Republican State Committee hailed Gould's victory as demonstrating that "the sinister influence of an oath-bound organization no longer threatens the welfare of Maine". The issue would be played out one more time, however, when Gov. Brewster challenged Sen. Hale for the Republican Senate nomination in 1928, and lost, signaling the eclipse of Grand Dragon DeForest H. Perkins
and the Klan as a force in Maine politics.
Although Gould was no friend of the Klan, once he joined the Senate Committee on Immigration, he sponsored some legislation of which the Klan would have approved. In 1930 he proposed a bill that would have set a quota on immigration from Canada, thus reducing Maine's Québécois population. The measure was defeated.
in the 1920s, and Maine had the nation's oldest prohibition law, and the Republican Party was the main proponent of prohibition, Gould did not believe in it and both made and consumed alcohol at home. He created a minor scandal in 1929 when a testimonial he had written in 1927, revealing that he fermented fruit juice for personal consumption, was made public. Gould had written that "I come from a prohibition state and am supposed to be a prohibitionist, but I am about as loyal to the prohibition element as some Southern Democrats are to the Democratic Party".
Maine's temperance proponents declared they'd work to unseat Gould, but he stated soon after that he wouldn't run for a second term, while denying the prohibitionist threat entered into his decision. In making that announcement Gould referred to prohibition as "this rotten farce".
in 1918 in order to secure concessions for the Saint John Valley and Quebec Railway, of which Gould was the major investor. Gould did not deny that a bribe of $100,000 was paid, but he claimed this was done by his associates without his knowledge, and that an additional $50,000 asked for by the Premier was refused, leading to the collapse of the railway. Gould claimed that bribery was standard practice in New Brunswick for American companies, and he was more a victim than perpetrator in this instance. The bribery charges led to a resolution by Democratic Senator Thomas J. Walsh
of Montana that would have prevented Gould from being seated in the Senate, but this was defeated and Gould was sworn in. A Senate sub-committee was formed to investigate the charge, however, and Gould was exonerated.
of Montana "hasn't got a kindly thought in his system". Both men were famous progressives, and such statements perhaps reveal Gould's instinctive conservatism as much as their clashing temperaments. Gould was particularly suspicious of the Midwest and West for wanting to wrest too much power from the Eastern states, and from New England in particular. But he also derided his own political skills, saying "the fact of the matter is that I'm not cut out for politics, I want to get back to my railroad and the pine forests of Maine." His favorite politician was Calvin Coolidge
and one of his best friend in the Senate was a Democrat, Senator Joseph E. Ransdell
of Louisiana.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
Born in Corinth, Maine
Corinth, Maine
Corinth is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,511 at the 2000 census.-History:The town was first settled in the late 1790s by the extended Daniel Skinner family and originally called "Ohio". There is still an "Ohio Street" in nearby Bangor, being a portion of...
, he attended the common schools and East Corinth Academy. He moved first to Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, where he opened a candy factory and met and married his wife, and then to Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in the sparsely populated Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,692 at the 2010 census...
, in 1887. There he engaged in the lumber business and built power plants and an electric railroad. He was president of the Aroostook Valley Railroad
Aroostook Valley Railroad
The Aroostook Valley Railroad was a railroad that operated between Presque Isle and Caribou, Maine from the early 1900s to 1996.-History:The railroad was founded in 1902 by Arthur R. Gould, and the Maine Railroad Commission granted it approval to operate on 1 July of the same year...
from 1902 to 1946.
He served in the Maine Senate
Maine Senate
The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than...
from 1921 to 1922, and was elected on September 13, 1926, as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Bert M. Fernald
Bert M. Fernald
Bert Manfred Fernald was a United States Senator and the 47th Governor of Maine.Born in West Poland, Maine, he attended the public schools, Hebron Academy and a business and preparatory school in Boston. He then taught school , and then engaged in the canning, dairy, and telephone businesses...
and served from November 30, 1926, to March 3, 1931. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1930. During his time in office he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Immigration for the 71st Congress.
He died at Presque Isle and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
.
Anti-Klan Republican
The special election to replace Senator Fernald occurred near the height of the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
's influence in Maine politics. Klan infiltration of the Republican Party split Maine Republicans, with klansmen finding their champion in Maine Governor Owen Brewster
Owen Brewster
Ralph Owen Brewster was an American politician from Maine. Brewster, a Republican, was solidly conservative...
, and their chief opponents in former Governor Percival P. Baxter
Percival P. Baxter
Percival Proctor Baxter was the 53rd Governor of the U.S. state of Maine who served from 1921 to 1925.-Early life:...
and Senator Frederick Hale
Frederick Hale
Frederick Hale was a politician from the U.S. state of Maine, representing the state in the United States Senate from 1917 to 1941. He was the son of Eugene Hale, the grandson of Zachariah Chandler, both also U.S. Senators, brother of diplomat Chandler Hale, and the cousin of U.S...
. Gould, whose wife was Catholic, ran on an anti-Klan platform after receiving the Republican nomination for Senator, which caused Gov. Brewster to take the unprecedented step of denouncing his own party's candidate in the general election.
The Maine special election was of national importance because the U.S. Senate was evenly split along party lines (47 to 47). Maine Democrats, however, deserted their party in droves to vote for Gould, in order to break the power of the Republican Klan faction. In an unprecedented outcome, Gould carried every city and county in the state. The Chairman of the Republican State Committee hailed Gould's victory as demonstrating that "the sinister influence of an oath-bound organization no longer threatens the welfare of Maine". The issue would be played out one more time, however, when Gov. Brewster challenged Sen. Hale for the Republican Senate nomination in 1928, and lost, signaling the eclipse of Grand Dragon DeForest H. Perkins
DeForest H. Perkins
Deforest H. Perkins was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Maine from 1925 to 1928. This was the high period of the Klan's ascendency nationally, and in Maine. He resigned in 1928 after a Klan-backed Republican candidate for U.S. Senator, Owen Brewster, lost his primary contest to Sen...
and the Klan as a force in Maine politics.
Although Gould was no friend of the Klan, once he joined the Senate Committee on Immigration, he sponsored some legislation of which the Klan would have approved. In 1930 he proposed a bill that would have set a quota on immigration from Canada, thus reducing Maine's Québécois population. The measure was defeated.
Anti-Prohibition Republican
Although the US was experiencing ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
in the 1920s, and Maine had the nation's oldest prohibition law, and the Republican Party was the main proponent of prohibition, Gould did not believe in it and both made and consumed alcohol at home. He created a minor scandal in 1929 when a testimonial he had written in 1927, revealing that he fermented fruit juice for personal consumption, was made public. Gould had written that "I come from a prohibition state and am supposed to be a prohibitionist, but I am about as loyal to the prohibition element as some Southern Democrats are to the Democratic Party".
Maine's temperance proponents declared they'd work to unseat Gould, but he stated soon after that he wouldn't run for a second term, while denying the prohibitionist threat entered into his decision. In making that announcement Gould referred to prohibition as "this rotten farce".
New Brunswick Bribery Scandal
During the 1926 election, Gould's opponent accused him of having bribed the Premier of the Canadian province of New BrunswickNew Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
in 1918 in order to secure concessions for the Saint John Valley and Quebec Railway, of which Gould was the major investor. Gould did not deny that a bribe of $100,000 was paid, but he claimed this was done by his associates without his knowledge, and that an additional $50,000 asked for by the Premier was refused, leading to the collapse of the railway. Gould claimed that bribery was standard practice in New Brunswick for American companies, and he was more a victim than perpetrator in this instance. The bribery charges led to a resolution by Democratic Senator Thomas J. Walsh
Thomas J. Walsh
Thomas James Walsh was a lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Helena, Montana, in the United States.-Background:...
of Montana that would have prevented Gould from being seated in the Senate, but this was defeated and Gould was sworn in. A Senate sub-committee was formed to investigate the charge, however, and Gould was exonerated.
Plain Speaker
Gould was noted for speaking his mind plainly and frankly. In a 1929 newspaper interview, he described Sen. George W. Norris of Nebraska as a "bitter, sour old man with not a good word for anybody" and said Sen. Thomas J. WalshThomas J. Walsh
Thomas James Walsh was a lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Helena, Montana, in the United States.-Background:...
of Montana "hasn't got a kindly thought in his system". Both men were famous progressives, and such statements perhaps reveal Gould's instinctive conservatism as much as their clashing temperaments. Gould was particularly suspicious of the Midwest and West for wanting to wrest too much power from the Eastern states, and from New England in particular. But he also derided his own political skills, saying "the fact of the matter is that I'm not cut out for politics, I want to get back to my railroad and the pine forests of Maine." His favorite politician was Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
and one of his best friend in the Senate was a Democrat, Senator Joseph E. Ransdell
Joseph E. Ransdell
Joseph Eugene Ransdell was a United States Representative and Senator from Louisiana. Born in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, Ransdell attended public schools. In 1882, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York...
of Louisiana.