Walter Eli Clark
Encyclopedia
Walter Eli Clark was an American
journalist
and newspaper publisher. In addition to his journalistic activities, he served as the last Governor of the District of Alaska
from 1909 to 1912, and the first Governor of Alaska Territory
from 1912 to 1913.
. He was educated in public school and in 1887 graduated from the Connecticut State Normal School. Clark taught at a school in Waterville, Connecticut before becoming Principal of Manchester, Connecticut
's grade school. In 1891 he enrolled at Williston Seminary. From there he went to Wesleyan University
and graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy
in 1895.
Following his graduation, Clark worked briefly in Hartford
as a reporter for The Hartford Post. From there he moved to Washington, D.C.
where he became a telegraph editor for the Washington Times
. He followed this by a stint as a Washington correspondent
for the New York Commercial Advertiser
before joining The Suns Washington bureau in 1897. Clark remained with The Sun until 1909, adding the roles of Washington correspondent for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
in 1900 and The Globe
(Toronto) in 1904.
Clark married Lucy Harrison Norvell of Washington D.C. on January 15, 1898.
on May 18, 1909. The president considered the new governor to be knowledgeable about the district because Clark had prospected
for gold near Nome, Alaska
for a short time in 1900 and traveled through the district in both 1903 and 1906. This view was however not universally held, with some Alaskans viewing the new governor as a carpetbagger
.
As governor, Clark attempted to bring the district's various political factions together. One point where he differed from the majority of Alaskans was on the issue of territorial status, which the governor opposed. Clark's opposition was based upon Alaska's small population (36,556 whites) and the general lack of transportation infrastructure throughout the district. His opposition however became moot when Republicans
took control of the United States House of Representatives
during the 1910 election. With the House under Democratic
control, legislation granting Alaska territorial status was pushed through and became effective on August 24, 1912.
During the territory's first legislative session, Clark signed laws creating a variety of regulatory agencies and implementing compulsory education
, juvenile court
s, eight-hour day
s for workers in many industries, and women's suffrage
. The legislature also followed his recommendation to impose a tax on the canning of salmon. His last day in office came on May 21, 1913 when he resigned to make way for Wilson
appointee John Franklin Alexander Strong
.
. There he purchased the News Mail and changed the paper's name to the Daily Mail
. Clark served as publisher and editor in chief
of the Daily Mail for the rest of his life.
Lucy Harrison Norvell Clark died in May 1928. The former governor remarried the next year, wedding Juliet (Staunton) Clay on August 13, 1929. Socially he was a member of Charleston's Edgewood Club, the Metropolitan Club
, the Arctic Club, and Washington's Chevy Chase Club. He was also cultivated an interest in rose
cultivation. In this role he founded the Charleston Rose Society in 1922 and served as President of the American Rose Society in 1928 through 1929. Additionally he was a judge at the 1929 International Rose Show.
In 1945, Clark received an honorary Doctor of Letters
from Wesleyan University
. That same year he experienced a heart attack and suffered from poor health for the next five years. Clark died in Charleston from another heart attack on February 4, 1950.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and newspaper publisher. In addition to his journalistic activities, he served as the last Governor of the District of Alaska
District of Alaska
The District of Alaska was the governmental designation for Alaska from May 17, 1884 to August 24, 1912, when it became Alaska Territory. Previously it had been known as the Department of Alaska. At the time, legislators in Washington, D.C., were occupied with post-Civil War reconstruction issues,...
from 1909 to 1912, and the first Governor of Alaska Territory
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
from 1912 to 1913.
Background
Clark was born on January 7, 1869 to Oren Andrus and Jeannette (Jones) Clark in Ashford, ConnecticutAshford, Connecticut
President George Washington, returning from his tour of the country in the fall of 1789, was chagrined to be involuntarily abandoned in the village on a Sunday...
. He was educated in public school and in 1887 graduated from the Connecticut State Normal School. Clark taught at a school in Waterville, Connecticut before becoming Principal of Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a township and city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 58,241.- History :...
's grade school. In 1891 he enrolled at Williston Seminary. From there he went to Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
and graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy is the title of an academic degree. The degree usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects...
in 1895.
Following his graduation, Clark worked briefly in Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
as a reporter for The Hartford Post. From there he moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where he became a telegraph editor for the Washington Times
Washington Times-Herald
The Washington Times-Herald was an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It was created by Cissy Patterson, when she bought the Herald and the Times from William Randolph Hearst, and merged them. The result was a '24 hour' newspaper, with 10 editions per day, from morning to...
. He followed this by a stint as a Washington correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for the New York Commercial Advertiser
Commercial Advertiser
The New-York Commercial Advertiser was an evening American newspaper.It was published, with slight name variations, from 1797-1904, though it originated as the American Minerva founded in 1793.-History:...
before joining The Suns Washington bureau in 1897. Clark remained with The Sun until 1909, adding the roles of Washington correspondent for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
in 1900 and The Globe
The Globe (Toronto newspaper)
The Globe was a newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1844 by George Brown as a Reform voice. It merged with The Mail and Empire in 1936 to form The Globe and Mail.-History:...
(Toronto) in 1904.
Clark married Lucy Harrison Norvell of Washington D.C. on January 15, 1898.
Alaska
Clark was appointed Governor of the District of Alaska by President William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
on May 18, 1909. The president considered the new governor to be knowledgeable about the district because Clark had prospected
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
for gold near Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
for a short time in 1900 and traveled through the district in both 1903 and 1906. This view was however not universally held, with some Alaskans viewing the new governor as a carpetbagger
Carpetbagger
Carpetbaggers was a pejorative term Southerners gave to Northerners who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877....
.
As governor, Clark attempted to bring the district's various political factions together. One point where he differed from the majority of Alaskans was on the issue of territorial status, which the governor opposed. Clark's opposition was based upon Alaska's small population (36,556 whites) and the general lack of transportation infrastructure throughout the district. His opposition however became moot when Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
took control of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
during the 1910 election. With the House under Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
control, legislation granting Alaska territorial status was pushed through and became effective on August 24, 1912.
During the territory's first legislative session, Clark signed laws creating a variety of regulatory agencies and implementing compulsory education
Compulsory education
Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all persons.-Antiquity to Medieval Era:Although Plato's The Republic is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought, every parent in Judea since Moses's Covenant with...
, juvenile court
Juvenile court
A juvenile court is a tribunal having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority...
s, eight-hour day
Eight-hour day
The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...
s for workers in many industries, and women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
. The legislature also followed his recommendation to impose a tax on the canning of salmon. His last day in office came on May 21, 1913 when he resigned to make way for Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
appointee John Franklin Alexander Strong
John Franklin Alexander Strong
John Franklin Alexander Strong was a Canadian-born journalist who was the 2nd Governor of Alaska Territory from 1913 to 1918.-Background:...
.
Later life
After leaving office, Clark moved to Charleston, West VirginiaCharleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
. There he purchased the News Mail and changed the paper's name to the Daily Mail
Charleston Daily Mail
The Charleston Daily Mail is a Pulitzer Prize winning Monday-Friday morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia.-Publishing History:The Daily Mail was founded in 1914 by former Alaska Gov. Walter Eli Clark and remained the property of his heirs until 1987. Governor Clark described the newspaper...
. Clark served as publisher and editor in chief
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of the Daily Mail for the rest of his life.
Lucy Harrison Norvell Clark died in May 1928. The former governor remarried the next year, wedding Juliet (Staunton) Clay on August 13, 1929. Socially he was a member of Charleston's Edgewood Club, the Metropolitan Club
Metropolitan Club
The Metropolitan Club is a private social club in New York City. It was formed in 1891 by J.P. Morgan, who served as its first president. Other original members included William K. Vanderbilt and James Roosevelt. Its 1912 clubhouse, designed by Stanford White, stands at 1-11 East 60th Street, on...
, the Arctic Club, and Washington's Chevy Chase Club. He was also cultivated an interest in rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
cultivation. In this role he founded the Charleston Rose Society in 1922 and served as President of the American Rose Society in 1928 through 1929. Additionally he was a judge at the 1929 International Rose Show.
In 1945, Clark received an honorary Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. That same year he experienced a heart attack and suffered from poor health for the next five years. Clark died in Charleston from another heart attack on February 4, 1950.