Charles H. Allen | |
|---|---|
 Allen in 1902 | |
| Assistant Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office May 11, 1898 – April 21, 1900 | |
| Preceded by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Succeeded by | Frank W. Hackett |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1885 (1885-03-04) – March 3, 1889 (1889-03-03) | |
| Preceded by | William A. Russell |
| Succeeded by | Frederic T. Greenhalge |
| Governor of Puerto Rico | |
| In office May 1, 1900 (1900-05-01) – September 15, 1901 (1901-09-15) | |
| Appointed by | William McKinley |
| Preceded by | George Whitefield Davis |
| Succeeded by | William Henry Hunt |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1881–1882 | |
| Member of theMassachusetts Senate | |
| In office 1883 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Herbert Allen (1848-04-15)April 15, 1848 |
| Died | April 20, 1934(1934-04-20) (aged 86) Lowell, Massachusetts, US |
| Political party | Republican |
Charles Herbert Allen (April 15, 1848 – April 20, 1934) was an American politician and businessman. After serving in state and federal elected positions, he was appointed as the first United States-appointed civiliangovernor of Puerto Rico when the U.S. acquired it after the Spanish–American War. He previously had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under PresidentWilliam McKinley.
After returning to the U.S. from Puerto Rico, Allen headed forWall Street and became a vice president of Morton Trust Company and its successor, theGuaranty Trust Company of New York. He formed theAmerican Sugar Refining Company—a sugar syndicate which, by 1907, was the largest in the world. It owned or controlled 98% of the sugar processing capacity in the U.S. and was known as the Sugar Trust.[1][2] Allen was treasurer of American Sugar Refining in 1910, its president in 1913, and in 1915 he joined its board of directors.[3] In the early 21st century, the company is known asDomino Sugar.
Allen was born inLowell, Massachusetts, on April 15, 1848, to Otis and Louisa (Bixby) Allen.[4] He attended public and private schools. He did his undergraduate work atAmherst College, where he graduated in 1869.[5] He worked with his father in their company,[4] Otis Allen and Son, a lumber business that manufactured wooden boxes and sold railroad ties, housing frames, and road building materials.
Allen joined the Republican Party and was elected to two terms in theMassachusetts House of Representatives in 1881 and 1882; and one term in theMassachusetts Senate in 1883. He was elected as aRepublican to the Forty-ninth and FiftiethCongresses, serving March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1889.[5] In 1890, Allen was nominated for governor ofMassachusetts by the Republicans, but was defeated byWilliam E. Russell.[5]
In 1884, he received the title "Colonel," when GovernorGeorge Dexter Robinson appointed him to his personal staff.[4] He also was appointed as the Massachusetts Prison Commissioner from 1897 to 1898.[5]
In 1898 PresidentWilliam McKinley named Allen as AssistantSecretary of the Navy whenTheodore Roosevelt resigned the post to enter theSpanish–American War. He held this position from 1898 to 1900.[5]
When the war ended, President McKinley appointed Allen as the first civiliangovernor of Puerto Rico, and he served from 1900 to 1901.[4] Though Allen had a business background, his financial administration of Puerto Rico has been criticized by historians Thomas Aitken Jr. and Manuel Maldonado-Denis. Therevenue for the island's government was raised internally, mostly fromtariffs,sales taxes andproperty taxes. During Allen's tenure this annualbudget equaled the 4.4 millionpesos the Spanish had spent in 1897, but without expenses for a five-thousand mangarrison or the former contributions to theCatholic church.[6]
Due to this reduced overhead, the island should have had a substantialbudget surplus, but Allen's administration did not provide many benefits for the people. He ignored the appropriation requests of the Puerto RicanHouse of Delegates, and refused to make anymunicipal, agricultural orsmall business loans. He built roads at double the old costs. 85% of the school-agepopulation did not have schools. Instead of making needed infrastructure and education investments, Allen re-directed the insular budget tono-bid contracts for U.S. businessmen,railroad subsidies for U.S.-owned sugarplantations, and highsalaries for U.S.bureaucrats in the island government.[6][7]
Allen was also listed as one of the "Politicians in the Lumber and Timber Business in Puerto Rico."[8]
By the time Allen left in 1901, nearly all of the governor's 11-memberExecutive Council were U.S. expatriates. Half the appointive offices in the government of Puerto Rico had been given to visiting Americans, 626 of them at top salaries.[6][7]
After resigning as governor in 1901, Allen headed toWall Street and joined the House of Morgan as vice-president of both the Morgan Trust Company and theGuaranty Trust Company of New York. Through these connections, he built a sugar syndicate in Puerto Rico. By 1907 this syndicate, theAmerican Sugar Refining Company, owned or controlled 98% of the sugar processing capacity in the United States and was known as the Sugar Trust.[1][2]
By 1910 Allen was treasurer of the American Sugar Refining Company, by 1913 he was its president, and by 1915 he sat on its board of directors.[9] While Allen built the largest sugar syndicate in the world, his political appointees in Puerto Rico provided him with land grants, tax subsidies, water rights, railroad easements, foreclosure sales and favorable tariffs.[10] Today, the Allen sugar syndicate is known asDomino Sugar.
Allen had married Harriet C. Dean ofManchester, New Hampshire, in 1870, and they lived in Lowell on Rolfe Street, at their home called "The Terraces", today part of UMass Lowell. They raised two daughters, Bertha and Louise.
While Allen and his family were living in Puerto Rico when he was governor, his daughter Bertha Allen married naval officer George W. Logan in 1900. Their wedding was at the Palace, the governor's residence.[citation needed] The second daughter, Louise Allen (1875–1953), became a sculptor and a member of many artistic societies. Her son,Allen Hobbs, was a hydrographer in the US Navy. He was appointed as the 32ndGovernor of American Samoa when it was a military position.[11]
Allen pursued a variety of leisure interests. He was an avidpainter, and completed twenty-seven landscape and marine paintings. These are held in the Allen Collection of theWhistler House Museum of Art in Lowell.[citation needed]
Interested in gardens, he ensured that the grounds of his home, "The Terraces," were planted with gardens, fountains, a pergola, and a large gazebo. The latter can be seen in photographs of the Allen House Collection,University of Massachusetts Center for Lowell History.[12] It was donated by Walter E. Hayes, his groundskeeper.[12]
Charles Herbert Allen died in Lowell and is buried inLowell Cemetery.[5] A memorial was created to honor his name.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Allen, Charles Herbert".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. p. 80.
Media related toCharles Herbert Allen at Wikimedia Commons "Allen, Charles Herbert".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. p. 80.| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Massachusetts 1891 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 8th congressional district March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of the Navy May 11, 1898 – April 21, 1900 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Puerto Rico May 1, 1900 – September 15, 1901 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
