Duncan E. McKinlay

Duncan E. McKinlay (October 6, 1862 – December 30, 1914) was an American lawyer and politician who served three terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1905 to 1911.

Duncan E. McKinlay
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1911
Preceded by	Theodore A. Bell
Succeeded by	William Kent
Personal details
Born	(1862-10-06)October 6, 1862 Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 30, 1914(1914-12-30) (aged 52) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Occupation	Attorney, carriage painter

Biography

Born in Orillia, Ontario, Canada, McKinlay attended the common schools. He later learned the trade of carriage painting and worked in Flint, Michigan, and San Francisco, Sacramento, and Santa Rosa, California. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of California in 1892 and commenced practice in Santa Rosa. He served as second assistant United States attorney at San Francisco from 1901–1904, and first assistant United States attorney from 1904–1905.

Congress

McKinlay was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-ninth, Sixtieth, and Sixty-first Congresses (March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1911). He was unsuccessful for renomination to Congress in 1910. After McKinlay's defeat, President William Howard Taft appointed him United States surveyor of customs for the port of San Francisco. He died in Berkeley, California on December 30, 1914, and was interred in Sunset View Cemetery in nearby El Cerrito.

Positions

McKinlay was an avowed supporter of the Geary Act restricting Chinese immigration. At the Chinese Exclusion Convention in 1901, he led the speakers with the "Legal Aspects of the Chinese Question", lauded by the San Francisco Call as a "brilliant address". He concluded the speech calling for a renewal of the Geary Act which would "guard and protect [us] from the blighting curse of Asiatic immigration".^[1]

Electoral history

1904 United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2nd district^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Duncan E. McKinlay	22,873	49.2
	Democratic	Theodore A. Bell (incumbent)	21,640	46.6
	Socialist	J. H. White	1,524	3.3
	Prohibition	Eli P. LaCell	431	0.9
Total votes			46,468	100.0
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

1906 United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2nd district^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Duncan E. McKinlay (incumbent)	23,411	51.8
	Democratic	W. A. Beard	20,262	44.8
	Socialist	A. J. Gaylord	1,524	3.4
Total votes			45,197	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

1908 United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2nd district^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Duncan E. McKinlay (incumbent)	28,627	57.5
	Democratic	W. K. Hays	19,193	38.5
	Socialist	A. J. Gaylord	2,003	4.0
Total votes			49,823	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold