Governorship
Gage was inaugurated as the 20th Governor of California on January 4, 1899. In his inauguration speech, Gage spoke at lengthy about foreign policy, viewing with favor the recent results of the Spanish-American War and their effect on California's economy. "The peaceful acquisition of the Hawaiian Islands, extending our empire beyond our Pacific shore, should be followed as a political necessity by the annexation of the Philippines," Gage spoke. "The center of commerce must move westward. California, favorably situated, will, among other advantages, reap the harvest of trade with these new territories, developing our many varied and growing resources, creating a western merchant marine for the carriage of our imports and exports, and luring to our markets the nations of the world."
In one of his first acts, Gage's administration reopened the State Printing Office, closed down earlier by previous governor James Budd in order to cut governmental expenditures.
From early on in his administration, Gage was highly partisan, due mostly to frequent accusations from Reform Republicans and Democrats alike who accused Gage as being a pawn for the Southern Pacific. When a newspaper published a political cartoon portraying railroad tycoon Collis Potter Huntington leading the governor around on a leash, Gage was so incensed by the accusation that he ramrodded a censorship bill through the California State Legislature, restricting the press whenever editorial content involved politics or politicians.
Read more about this topic: Henry Gage