Page:Pen Pictures of Representative Men of Oregon.djvu/64



PLe"presentsiti"^es.

HON. GEORGE W. M'BRiDE.

The duties of Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives require a ready- sagacity, a correct and quick judgment, a bold independence and the ca- pacity and disposition for hard work. The work which a Speaker must do while other men are asleep more severely tests all these qualities than does the public duty of directing the daily sessions of the House. In the Speaker's hand rests the burden of committee organization, and upon his judgment and fairness in this great duty hangs the controlling force of legislation; and in the duty of presiding, every hour calls for intelligence, decision and good common sense. Mr. McBride has made a good Speaker. "We could not say more in a half dozen pages. His election was a high per- sonal compliment— honorable, because unsought; exceptional, because of his youth. Solicited by opposing factions, he stood unallied with either. His independence challenged the admiration of both, and their united vote gave him the place of responsibility and honor. He took his seat supported by the confidence and good opinion of both parties, and at the end of the session he retired from it with the warm personal friendship of every mem- ber of the House. All commended his judgment, all api)lauded his faii'ness. Mr. McBride is the first native Oregouian who has ever filled a high place in the official service of the State and tiie youngest man who ever sat in the Speaker's chair. He is the youngest son of the late Dr. James McBride, and was born in Yamhill county in March, 1854. The earlier years of his school life were passed at Lafayette, in Ya,mhill county, and St. Helens, in Columbia county, w'here he now lives. Later he spent one year in the Willamette University at Salem and two years in Christian College, Mon- mouth, under the tuition of President T. F. Campbell, quitting the latter institution a year before graduation on account of poor health, which a year of rest from severe study did not wholly restore. However, he entered the law office of Hon. J. C. Moreland, Portland, as a student, remaining three years, but ill health again prostrated him. For two years he was an invalid — an energetic and rebellious one, it is true, but a constant sufferer — and upon his recovery engaged in active business, abandoning for the w^hile his purpose of practicing law, for which he was thoroughly disciplined and qualified. Mr, McBride has continued in business ever since, and is the principal merchant of Columbia county. Land owning and dealing is a passion with him, and his landed estates in Columbia county are extensive. For the past three or four years he has been an important factor in the politics of his county and of the State. Columbia, which formerly was a solid Democratic stronghold, has, since his participation in its afl'airs, be- come surely and solidly Republican, and last June rolled up something more