William Simon U'Ren

William Simon U'Ren
Born	January 10, 1859 Lancaster, Wisconsin
Died	December 14, 1974 Portland, Oregon
Political Party	Republican[1]
Spouse	Mary Beharrell

William Simon U'Ren (January 10, 1859 - March 5, 1949) was a political activist, agitator, lawyer, and politician from the state of Oregon. He is best remembered as the Father of the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall,^[2] and has been given the nickname "Referendum U'Ren".^[3]

William Simon U'Ren was born January 10, 1859, in Lancaster, Wisconsin, the son of William Richard and Frances Jane (Ivey) U'Ren. He was educated in the public schools, after which he took a business college course and studied law at Denver, Colorado, where he was admitted to the bar in 1881.^[4] He came from a family of blacksmiths, and was himself taught the trade.

He practised law at Gunnison and Denver for a few years, then traveled for his health and came to Oregon in 1889.

In 1891, he settled in Milwaukie, Oregon, and in 1896 he resumed the practice of law as the senior member of the firm of Uren and Scheubel. While living in Milwaukie, he became good friends with the Lewelling Family.(Sometimes spelled Luelling)^[5] The Lewelling Family were well known for their orcharding and spiritualism. U'Ren helped the Lewelling nursery business until the panic of 1893.^[6]

U'Ren was introduced to the work of James W. Sullivan when Alfred Lewelling gave him a copy of Direct Legislation by the Citizenship Through the Initiative and Referendum.

When on his way to Oregon he was impressed by Henry George's "Progress and Poverty," and was soon advocating the idea that the surest way to secure the adoption of the "single tax" was to institute the initiative, referendum and recall. His efforts in this direction have been so effective that he has been called the "Father" of the Initiative and Referendum.

Was elected to the Legislature from Clackamas County, Oregon, in June, 1896. Formed partnership with Christian Schuebel in January, 1901. He was also a Member American Political Science Association, of the Oregon City Commercial Club, and of the National Municipal League.

He was organizer and secretary of the Oregon Direct Legislation League (1892-1902); member of the Oregon House of Representatives (1896) ; organizer and secretary of the Oregon Direct Primary Nominations League (1894), and People's Power League of Oregon (1906 and 1908).^[7]

U'Ren was very effective while a public figure. According to a 1906 editorial, "In Oregon, the state government is divided into four departments -- the executive, judicial, legislative and Mr. U'Ren, and it is still an open question which exerts the most power."^[8]

Married March 6, 1901, to Mary Beharrell.^[1]

* I read Progress and Poverty in 1882, and I went just as crazy over the Single Tax idea as any one else ever did. I knew I wanted the Single Tax, and that was about all I did know. I thought I could get it by agitation, and was often disgusted with a world that refused to be agitated for what I wanted. In 1882 (sic) I learned what the Initiative and Referendum is, and then I saw the way to the Single Tax. SO I QUIT TALKING SINGLE TAX, not because I was any the less in favor of it but because I saw that the first job was to get the Initiative and Referendum, so that the people independently of the Legislature, may get what they want rather than take what the Legislature will let them have.^[9][10]

* Blacksmithing is my trade, and it has always given color to my view of things. When I was young, I saw some of the evils in the conditions of life, and I wanted to fix them. I couldn't. There were no tools. We had tools to do almost anything in the shop. Beautiful tools. Wonderful. And so in other trades, arts and professions; in everything but government.
In government, the common trade of all men and the basis of all social life, men worked still with old tools, and with old laws, with constitutions and charters which hindered more than they helped. Men suffered from this. There were lawyers enough: many of our ablest men are lawyers. Why didn't some of them invent legislative implements to help the people govern themselves? Why had we no tool makers for democracy?^[11]

• Initiatives and referendums in the United States
• Initiative
• Referendum
• Recall

• The Initiative and Referendum and how Oregon got them, by Burton J. Hendrick, McClure's, July 1911