Carl Milliken

Carl Milliken
51st Governor of Maine
In office January 3, 1917 – January 5, 1921
Preceded by	Oakley C. Curtis
Succeeded by	Frederic H. Parkhurst
73rd President of the Maine Senate
In office January 2, 1913 – January 5, 1915
Preceded by	Nathan Clifford
Succeeded by	Ira G. Hersey
Member of the Maine Senate from the 16th district
In office January 6, 1909 – January 5, 1915
Preceded by	Beecher Putnam
Succeeded by	Aaron J. Fulton
Constituency	Aroostook County
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
In office January 4, 1905 – January 6, 1909
Preceded by	Harrison G. White
Succeeded by	Verdi Ludgate
Personal details
Born	(1877-07-13)July 13, 1877 Pittsfield, Maine, U.S.
Died	May 1, 1961(1961-05-01) (aged 83) Massachusetts, U.S.
Party	Progressive; Republican
Spouses	Emma Chase ​ (died 1930)​ Caroline Chase
Education	Bates College Harvard University

Carl Elias Milliken (July 13, 1877 – May 1, 1961) was an American politician, and business executive. He served as the 51st governor of Maine from 1917-1921, coinciding with United States direct involvement in World War I. He was later the chief spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Early life and education

A native of Pittsfield, Maine, Milliken was the son of Charles Arthur Milliken and Phoebe Ellen Knowlton. Milliken graduated from Bates College in 1897. He went on to receive his master's degree from Harvard University in 1899, before moving to Island Falls, Maine, to enter the lumber business.

Early business career

During the next six years, Milliken held positions as general manager of two lumber companies and an axe manufacturer and as president of a local telephone company.

Political career

His political career began in 1905, when he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. Milliken moved up to the Maine State Senate in 1909, and was president of that body from 1913 to 1915.

French Language Ban

The United States experienced a wave of xenophobia around World War I and the period afterwards. Along with more stringent controls on immigration, opposition to so-called "Hyphenated Americans" was prevalent. As part of this trend, Milliken signed a law banning the use of non-English languages in Maine schools on April 1, 1919 .^[3] Sharing a border with New Brunswick and Quebec, Maine had a large French-speaking population at the time and this ordinance directly target that group. This mirrors a similar ban against the French language in schools passed by the state of Louisiana in the following years.

Chapter 146.

_{^{An Act to Amend Section One Hundred and Twenty-two of Chapter Sixteen of the Revised Statutes, Relating to the Duties of the State Superintendent of Public Schools and Providing for the Teaching of Common School Subjects in the English Language.}}

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine, as follows:

R. S., c. 16, § 122, 11 VII; relating to duties of state superintendent of schools relative to courses of study in public schools. Paragraph VII of section one hundred and twenty-two of chapter sixteen of the revised statutes is hereby amended by striking out all of said paragraph and substituting in place thereof the following:

'VII. Basic language in all public and private schools to be English; state superintendent to prescribe courses of study in private schools approved for attendance or tuition. To prescribe the studies to be taught in the public schools and in private schools approved for attendance and tuition purposes, reserving to superintending school committees, trustees or other officers in charge of such public or private schools the right to prescribe additional studies, and the course of study prescribed by the state superintendent of public schools shall be followed in all public schools and in all private schools approved by the state superintendent for attendance or tuition purposes; provided, however, that upon the approval by the state superintendent of any course arranged by the superintending school committee of any town, or by the trustees or other officers of any private school, said course shall be the authorized course for said town or private school; provided, further, that the basic language of instruction in the common school branches in all schools, public and private, shall be the English language. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the teaching in elementary schools of any language as such.'

Approved April 1, 1919.

Motion Picture career

Milliken left office on January 5, 1921. The following year, he became executive secretary and chief spokesman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association (later the Motion Picture Association of America), the movie industry's first self-censorship body. Milliken served as executive secretary for more than two decades, retiring in 1947.

In retirement

After stepping down from the MPAA, Milliken served as the managing trustee of Teaching Film Custodians, a trust for educational films, and also served a term as president of the American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society.

Personal life

Milliken married twice. His first wife, the former Emma Chase, died in 1930. He then married her sister, Caroline Chase. With his first wife, Milliken had one son and six daughters. His first wife was the daughter of his alma mater's president George Colby Chase, while his second wife was Chase's other daughter.^[4]

References

• "Ex-Gov. Milliken of Maine was 83." New York Times, 2 May 1961: 37.

External links

• Senate Presidents - Maine Legislature - Carl E. Milliken