Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had." Biography West was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at the age of four where he attended school and eventually went into banking. After several years as a banker in Salem and Astoria, and a six-month stint searching for gold in Alaska, West gained an appointment as the State Land Agent. He proved effective in his position, recovering almost 1 million acres (4,000 km²) of fraudulently held state land. In 1907, West left his position as Land Agent and was appointed to the Oregon Railroad Commission, where he again found a great deal of success. Governor of Oregon In 1910, he gained the Democratic nomination for Governor and went on to defeat his opponent, Jay Bowerman, and take office in 1911. While in office, West defended what he called the Oregon System which included initiative and referendum systems still in use in many western American states today. Through these processes women's suffrage, various workers rights laws and most famously prohibition all came into effect during West's administration. West established Oregon's beach highway law, proclaiming the entire Pacific coastline to the high tide line to be a public highway, thereby preserving scenery and beach access for future generations. The law protecting public access to the high-water line remains in effect on Oregon beaches, which were formally protected by the Oregon Legislature and Governor Tom McCall in 1967 (HB 1601). West is also credited with establishing Oregon's highway system, when in 1913 the Oregon HIghway Commission was created by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, levying a tax upon all property to fund the establishment of a state roadway system. The tax raised $700,000 during its first year, money which was targeted to the development of three major road routes — the Coast Highway (US-101), the Pacific Highway from Portland through the Willamette Valley, and the Columbia River Highway connecting Portland with Eastern Oregon. He addressed a national convention of governors in New Jersey in 1911, on the topic of prison labor. Prohibition advocate West was a fervent prohibitionist. He believed so strongly in the idea that he