Page:Pen Pictures of Representative Men of Oregon.djvu/162

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122
REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OREGON.

ciety in Oregon; was one of the first stockholders and afterwards one of the directors of the Willamette Woolen Factory; was a member of the firm of Jones, Reed & Co., that built on "Boon's Island" the first door, sash, blind and labor-saving manufactory; was elected to the Legislature in 1862 and framed and introduced the present militia law of the State; was appointed, to carry the law into effect, Adjutant General of the State by Governor A. C. Gibbs and re-appointed by Governor Woods. His printed report at the close of his official career is regarded by military men as one of the best documents of the kind ever issued. In 1869, under a contract with the State, built the Opera House building for State Department offices. The administration changing and the newly-elected State officers failing to comply with the agreement, the building was" turned into a hotel and opera house. The Colonel in 1874 painted a magnificent panorama of Oregon, which is considered a fine work of art, and which is now being exhibited in continental Europe. Mr. Reed was again elected to the Legislature in 1874, and during the session introduced and carried through the bill that reared the walls, enclosed and made ready for occupation the present capitol building. In 1878 was again a member and was the originator of several bills for the advancement of the State and society. Conspicuous among them was the present gambling law; the law closing saloons on election days; the act lo prohibit the public execution of criminals convicted of capital offenses. It would require a volume double the size of this book to give in detail the various enterprises Mr. Reed has I)eea engaged in during his residence in Oregon. In personal appearance the Colonel is inclined to embonpoint, but he is as active and as full of vim and energy to-day as he was when he landed in Oregon thirty-two years ago.


HON. FRANK J. TAYLOR,

Of Astoria, is one of those genial, whole-souled chaps whom it does one good to meet and who infuses new Life into you with the simple shake of the hand. His affability and goo I nature make him a general favorite and his friends are legion. His parents came to Oregon "the plains across" in 1845, and settled first at Oregon City and afterwards moved to Clatsop plains, where Frank put in an appearance on the 11th day of May, 1851. He received a common school education, and developing a natural taste for law he commenced reading in the office of Hall, Thayer & Williams, in Portland, along in 1871 and 1872. He afterwards attended law school at Albany University, Albany, N. Y., and graduated, being admitted to the bar of that State m 1873. He returned to Oregon and opened an office at Astoria, where he has practiced law most of the time since. He was elected and held the office of Recorder and Police Judge of Astoria from August 1, 1875, to June 1, 1878. and at present is serving as Councilman in the Common Council of that city. In 1880 he was nominated and elected member of the House of Representatives from Clatsop and Tillamook counties, and served his constituents faithfully during that session. He was an active worker and proved an important factor in that body. He was a member of several important committees and frequently took an active part in debates. Mr. Taylor is