East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-07-24
BENSON WILL NOT
RUN FOR GOVERNOR
ANNOUNCES HIS CANDIDACY
FOR HIS OLD POSITION
Says lie Has No Ambition TO be FL
ected Governor OF the State
Clears Up The Political situation
Other Candldates-Rumors About
Judge Lowell.

Portland.-Ambtious to serve an,
other term as Secretary Of State and
to make a satisfactory record in that
capacity Governor Benson yesterday
announced that he would be a candi-
date for the Republican nomination
and election as Secretary Of State in
1910 and would not seek longer to
retain the office of governor. This
announcement from Governor Benson
who, since the election of Chamberlain
as United States Senator. has held the
dual office Of Governor and Secretary
of state, serves largely to clear the
political atmosphere in anticipation of
promised contests for the various state
offices in the primary and general
elections next year, says the Oregon
ian
Governor Benson was in Portland
last night and made the following
statement just before leaving for a
a short vacation in California:
Governor Bcnson's Statement.
shall be a candidate for renomi-
nation and election as Secretary of
State. | have fully determined upon
this course and shall go before the
voters upon my record, asking for re-
newed expressions of their confl-
dence in me as a public servant. /
shall not be a candidate for Governor,
for 1t Is my ambition to occupy the
office OF Secretary of State for two
terms and to make a record that will
be satisfactory to my constituents, my
party and myself. Many friends in
different parts of the state have inn
portuned me TO become a candidate for
Governor next year, and while | ap-
preciate their kind offers of support,
| prefer to be a candidate for the
Secretaryship.
When the Republican party honor
ed me with the nomination for Sec
retary Of state in 1906, and when l
was subsequently elected to this po-
sition, 1t was fair to assume that in
the ordinary course of events I would
be candidate for reelection and
would not use the office as a stepping
stone to the Governorshlp. I never
was candidate for Governor in any
sense OF the word and hold the office
now because Of the series of political
movements, for which | am not re-
sponsble and in which | played no
part. As Governor of Oregon | am
endcavoring to give the people of the
state a sane. business like administra-
tion and shall continue so to do until
the end of my term. / am also filling
the position of Secretary OF State to !
the best of my ability and am giving |
my undivided time ana attention to |
the many responsibilities attendant |
upon the two offices.
Other Candidates to Withdraw.
With Governor Benson an avowed |
candidate for Secretary Of state. II is |
expected that the other Republicans |
who aspired to that office win with
draw from the contest. The incum
bent Of the office is completing his !
first term, and he believes the record
he has made commends him 10 Sec
ond term. which, in the past, quite
invariably has been accorded his pre-
decessors, Among the prominent Re-
pubicans who would have asked for
tie nomination as Secretary Of State
had Governor Benson decided to ask
for reelection as the states chief eX-
ecutive are, John b. Coffey. of Port
land: f. ]. Miller, of Albany; l. II.
Bingham Of Eugene; and George +.
Rodgers. of Salem. With the eXcep,
ton OF Rodgers, who is Mayor of sa-
lem. these men are all State Senators
With the nomination Of Secretary of
State practically settled, the bars for
the Gubernatoral nomination have
been thrown down and the contest for
that office will now resolve itself in
to a free-for-all fight. without con-
templatng the possibilities of the out
put of the political candidate hatch
ing incubator during the ensuing II
months. there already are no less