Territorial Politics a legislature, Counties, Public Schools, and a New Capital City chapter 6 the time

"The car chuckled, jiggled, and clattered happily as though it was working for a man who loved and understood it," wrote John Steinbeck, a famous author, about a Model T Ford whose owner kept it in good repair. To Steinbeck, the car was almost human.

To start the Model T, a driver had to adjust the petrol and spark levers just right, walk to the front of the car, and crank it by hand. The reverse gear gave the car some flexibility. When the brake was gone, the driver could stop the car by shifting to reverse. Also, when the low gear was too worn to pull uphill, the driver could turn the Model T around and back up.

Thanks to Henry Ford, Arizona and the rest of the country had automobiles before good roads were built. The "Tin Lizzie" or "Flivver" became part of the nation's folklore.

Two young women wash their Model T in Scottsdale.

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Early Aviation in Arizona

In the early 1900s the airplane was used primarily for stunts and amusements. Charles K. Hamilton made the first flight in Arizona at the state fairgrounds in Phoenix. He flew a bamboo and silk contraption, beating a Studebaker car in a five-mile race, only to lose the next day.

Hamilton was a barnstormer, going from town to town to entertain people. From Phoenix he shipped his plane by rail to Tucson where he thrilled another crowd. He reached an altitude of 900 feet and a speed of forty miles an hour. Tickets were sold for the spectacle. To prevent gate crashing, the pilot was required to take off and land his flimsy, awkward plane in a very small field surrounded by a board fence.

Katherine Stinson, advertised as the "Flying Schoolgirl," thrilled Tucson fair crowds. The nineteen-year-old did loop-the-loops and a death dip, which was a steep power dive toward the crowd. After the show, Stinson flew a sack of air mail from the fairgrounds in south Tucson and dropped it at the downtown post office. The U. S. Postal Service went along with the stunt and approved it as the first "official" airmail flight in Arizona.

In 1919 the City of Tucson built the nation's first local airport on the Nogales highway south of town. Years later, a new airport named Davis-Monthan was built. Charles Lindbergh came to town for the dedication, just four months after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Thousands of people were waiting at the airport when Lindbergh landed his famous silver-tinted plane, The Spirit of St. Louis.

Commercial air service in Arizona began in 1927 when Aero Corporation scheduled a seven-passenger plane from Los Angeles to Phoenix and on to Tucson. The flight took seven hours and ten minutes. Scenic Airways, another early airline, carried passengers to view the Grand Canyon in Ford tri-motored planes, called "the gooses." Scenic also built an airport, the present Sky Harbor in Phoenix.

—from an interview

Katherine Stinson delivered the first airmail to Tucson.

Charles Hamilton made the first flight in Arizona.

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Picture Shows

The first movies had no sound. Viewers read subtitles to keep up with the plot. Some theaters had a piano or organ for background music. Many of these "silents" were filmed in Arizona. A popular Tucson-made movie, The Sleeper, told the story of a luckless old prospector who finally struck it rich. Several hundred local residents, working as "extras," took part in a gold rush. Dressed in old clothes, they jumped off a chugging Southern Pacific train and headed for the "gold fields."

Arizona provided more than extras, trains, and scenery for the "flickers." Writers such as Zane Grey and Harold Bell Wright wrote western stories that were used in movie scripts. Wright's Son of His Father was filmed at a ranch on the Mexican border. Arizonans were angered by the film company's publicity release. "The actors," said the report, "had to ride eighteen miles on pack mules to reach the location, existed on food supplies dropped from an airplane, and were constantly in danger of attack by Mexican bandits." The company apologized for this false report and threw a party for the state's residents at the Blue Moon Ballroom in Tucson.

The first "talkie," or movie with sound, was The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson. It was shown in Arizona in the late 20s. By that time, every major town had at least one "picture show" theater. The fancy ones, like the Orpheum in Phoenix, were called "movie palaces." Audiences at the Orpheum marveled at the fountains, art work, and ceiling with its sky effect of rolling clouds and blinking stars.

Movies made it possible for Arizonans to see on the screen how the rest of the country lived, dressed, and traveled.
---see picture

A good seat in the balcony at the Grand Theater in Douglas cost ten cents. The theater is

Leo was his name. He was the African lion that roars at the beginning of many movies made by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). As a publicity stunt, MGM decided to fly the 400-pound Leo nonstop from California to New York. Thus began a funny event in Arizona's aviation and movie history.

The lion was placed in a comfortable cage on a Ryan airplane. This plane was similar to the one Charles Lindbergh used on his historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Martin Jensen, a dashing barnstormer, was the pilot. Five hours after leaving San Diego, Jensen was approaching the Mogollon Rim. When he realized the plane couldn't get high enough to clear the mountains, he stalled the engine and landed on top of a large tree east of Payson. The fall was broken. Jensen was unhurt except for a minor cut. Leo was fine, though a bit grumpy.

Jensen fed and watered Leo and began walking for help. After three days he reached the H-Bar Ranch. The rancher took phone messages for Jensen's wife and MGM to Globe. When news of the accident spread, everyone wanted into the act. Some local cowboys talked about holding Leo for ransom. They backed off when told that the animal was a fierce African lion.

One of the rescuers, however, said Leo "was a nice tame old boy. He just rolled over like a pussycat."

MGM got more publicity from this accident than if the stunt had been successful as planned. In gratitude, Leo was incorporated into the company's logo.

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The radio was the most exciting invention of the 1920s. Its popularity spread across the United States with amazing speed. A new style of life developed as families clustered around the radio to listen to their favorite music, comedy series, or spine-tingling mystery.

The first amateur station in Arizona was 6BBH. A young Barry Goldwater was one of several radio operators involved with 6BBH. The listeners were "ham operators" with crystal sets and earphones. KFAD of Phoenix was Arizona's first licensed commercial station. Later, the call letters were changed to KTAR, standing for "Keep Taking the Arizona Republic." The newspaper was part owner of the station.

Not many people owned a radio set in the 1920s. The census of 1930 revealed that only 18.1 percent of Arizona's families had a radio. That is why public listening areas were set up with loudspeakers in some towns. They were favorite listening spots for younger people who could not have "radio parties" at home. About 10,000 excited boxing fans crowded Phoenix's Central Avenue to hear a broadcast of the DempseyTunney fight. The Arizona Republic used a public address system to share the fight with the cheering, rain-dampened crowd. In 1930, KTAR was welcomed as the newest member of the NBC network. Arizona was in tune with the rest of the nation.

People in Arizona used to listen to radio programs much like families today gather

1880-1940

Tom Mix, the most famous silent film star, lived in Prescott when he was making westerns there. A 1913 film was called The Sheriff of Yavapai County. In all his films, Mix set the standard for movie cowboys. A dashing daredevil, he did all his own stunts with his famous wonder horse Tony. Mix didn't smoke, drink, or swear on screen. "I aim to set a good example for young people," he said. "I keep my pictures clean."

Mix grew up in a Pennsylvania coal mining town. At an early age he joined the army and was wounded in the Spanish-American War. Later, he punched cows in Oklahoma, became a national rodeo champion, and performed in Miller's Wild West Show.

After his movie career was over, Mix was killed when his speeding convertible turned over on the highway south of Florence.

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1. 
   For what reasons was Arizona ready for statehood in 1912?
   
2. 
   Give three examples of progressive ideas that were put in the Arizona constitution. Which one of these reforms did the labor unions want? Why?
   
3. 
   Name two popular reforms of the day that were not included in the original constitution.
   
4. 
   Why did President Taft delay Arizona statehood?
   
5. 
   When did Arizona become a state?
   
6. 
   What was the Colorado River Compact? Why didn't the Arizona governor and the legislature want to sign it?
   
7. 
   Why was the U.S. Border Patrol created?
   
8. 
   Why did many Chinese people leave Mexico?
   
9. 
   List three ways in which Arizonans demonstrated patriotism during World War I.
   
10. 
    List two uses of Pima cotton during World War I. How did cotton farming change after the war?
    
11. 
    How did World War I affect the copper industry in Arizona?
    
12. 
    List five ways the automobile changed Arizona.
    
13. 
    What company built an airport where Phoenix Sky Harbor is located today?
    
14. 
    What was Arizona's first licensed commercial radio station? When did it join the NBC network?
    

—Phoenix Gazette

This stamp honors the veterans of World War I. (Stamp design ©1985 U.S. Postal Service.

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Carl Bimson

Governor B. B. Moeur

U.S. President Herbert Hoover

U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt

I. E. Solomon

Harold Bell Wright

Ross Santee

Lewis Douglas

Isabella Greenway

John Greenway

Oscar C. Palmer

Dr. Willis Carrier

Frank Lloyd Wright

Clarence B. Kelland
PLACES TO LOCATE
Yavapai County

Prescott

Tucson

Phoenix

Douglas

Tempe

Grand Canyon

Paradise Valley

Scottsdale

depression

transient

installment

undaunted

"fireside chat"

FDIC

trestle

WPA

CCC

eradicate

scarcity

AAA

bureaucrat

IRA
---see timeline pgs. 206 & 207
1929

Stock market crashes. First refrigerated air conditioning in the state is installed in Phoenix.

Arizona Highway Patrol is created.

President Hoover provides emergency relief money to the states. Harold Bell Wright heads a

Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes U.S. president Governor Moeur and President Roosevelt declare bank holidays

Izabella Greenway is first woman elected to Congress in Arizona.

The U.S. Congress creates the Federal Housing Administration. Indian New Deal laws are passed.

Frank Lloyd Wright begins building Taliesen West in Paradise Valley.

Columbia Pictures builds Old Tucson.

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The Great Depression

AN OLD RIDDLE goes like this: "When is an economic downturn a recession and when is it a depression?" The answer is: "It's a recession when you are out of work; it's a depression when I am out of work."

The prosperity of the 1920s turned suddenly to depression in the 1930s. The Great Depression was more severe, lasted longer, and affected more people than any in history. About 15 million Americans were out of work. Hundreds of banks failed, and people lost their savings. Prices of farm products dropped. Many mines and factories closed. Foreign trade came to a standstill. Many jobless people roamed the country looking for work. The people in Arizona shared the misery of the rest of the nation.

Arizona not only had to help its own unemployed workers, but also transients looking for a warm climate. The need for relief was great. Private groups, public charities, and the state and national governments waged a war on the depression. Somehow life went on.

—Helen E. Bunnell

Gasoline was fifteen cents a gallon at this downtown Phoenix service station, 1933.

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Causes of the Great Depression

The causes of the Great Depression were complex. Economists still argue about the causes, but they agree that the following factors were involved:

1. 
   Overproduction by both farms and factories was a major cause. More was produced than consumers could afford to buy. Not enough profit went into wages to increase the buying power of workers.
   
2. 
   Too much credit was another cause. The "easy money" policy of the banks led consumers to buy goods on the installment plan. By 1929, many consumers were in debt. They had to stop spending. When they did, there was a sudden drop in the sales of automobiles, radios, and other goods. Then factories had to close down and there were more unemployed people.
   
3. 
   Too much speculation was a third major cause of the depression. Thousands of people gambled on the stock market in the 1920s. Hoping to get rich quickly, they borrowed money to buy stocks. The big demand for stocks raised the price higher than the stocks were worth.
   

Factories lay off workers.

Factories do not get orders.

Stores do not order from factories.

People lose their jobs.

People cannot buy things.

Stores go out of business.

The first-place winner of the high school Rotary speech contest in Phoenix said there must be "a wise limitation of credit" to keep the economy steady. Too much buying on credit leads to overproduction, which is followed by layoffs, unemployment, and depression.

—The Arizona Republic, March 26, 1931

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A Jolt to Arizona's Economy

The mining industry was hit hard. When eastern factories shut down, they stopped buying Arizona copper. With little demand for copper, the price fell from eighteen cents a pound in 1929 to five cents in 1932. At this price the mines could not make a reasonable profit. Many companies laid off miners and closed their mines.

Farmers and ranchers struggled with low selling prices for their products, interest payments on loans, and taxes on their land. The cotton growers were hurt the most. The price for cotton dropped from nineteen to six cents a pound.

Cattle and sheep ranchers suffered as beef and wool prices tumbled. Beef prices got so low that some cattlemen gave their animals away. The Yavapai County Cattle Growers in Prescott supplied the Salvation Army in Prescott with beef for the poor.

School and population trends were like weather vanes for the depression. School enrollment dropped as workers and their families moved away. Migrant children were in and out of schools.

The Arizona Highway Commission found a way to help the copper industry during the depression: "More than 70,000 pounds of copper will be used by the State of Arizona in 1932 auto license plates. New Jersey will use 600,000 pounds in the manufacture of more than one million plates."

—The Arizona Republic, July 21, 1931

In 1932, merchants in Mesa were suffering for lack of business. John McPhee, colorful editor of the Mesa Tribune, offered a novel idea to attract a crowd to the annual Christmas parade that went down the street in front of the stores. He hoped that if more people came to the parade, they would spend money at the stores.

"Why not have Santa Claus jump from an airplane and lead the parade?" McPhee asked. Parachuting was considered a dangerous stunt in the 1930s. Merchants liked the idea, and they hired a stunt man to make the jump. But there was one problem—on parade day the parachutist was drunk. McPhee was disappointed, but undaunted. He borrowed a department store dummy Santa and told the pilot to push it, with parachute attached, from the plane. "I will then appear in a Santa costume and lead the parade," McPhee explained.

People had brought their children from miles around Mesa to watch Santa's unusual arrival. The crowd gazed skyward as the plane flew over and Santa jumped. But there was another problem. The parachute didn't open. Down, down, down, the dummy fell. It splattered on the field in front of hundreds of bawling children and horrified adults.

Trying to recover from the incident, McPhee appeared dressed as Santa to ride in the parade. The stunned public, however, was in no mood to accept a substitute. McPhee skipped town for a few days, but people would not forget the incident, then or ever. The editor is still remembered as "the man who killed Santa Claus."

210

During hard times, people often withdraw their savings from the bank. They also make fewer deposits. Between 1929 and 1932, bank deposits in Arizona dropped in half. This large withdrawal of money added to the large number of uncollectible loans and put some banks out of business. In three years, thirteen banks in Arizona closed their doors. Many small banks merged with others rather than close.

Walter Bimson, the new president of Valley National Bank, had reason to worry one morning in March, 1933. Over the phone came word that the governor of California had temporarily closed all banks in that state. The California and Arizona banks were closely linked. Bimson feared that the California banks would start withdrawing money from Arizona's banks. He persuaded Governor Moeur to close the banks for three days. The bank holiday prevented a possible epidemic of bank withdrawals and failures.

On March 6, 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a national bank holiday. In a "fireside chat," over the radio he explained that all banks would be examined. Only the sound ones would reopen. Most banks were soon back in business.

Confident Arizonans greeted the end of the bank holiday by depositing much more than they withdrew. On the first day of business at a Tucson bank, an orchestra played "Happy Days Are Here Again." This spirited tune matched the mood of several thousand smiling bank patrons.

A short time later, Congress set up the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) to protect bank deposits. People were guaranteed that if they deposited money, they could get it back even if there were bank problems. This restored the public's confidence in banks.

Walter Bimson was president of the Valley National Bank during the Great Depression. He collected many fine paintings.

—Ernest J. Hopkins, bank historian

—Reporters from the Tucson Citizen and The Arizona Republic, March 1933

211

Valley National Bank

The Valley National Bank was Arizona's most successful financial institution during the 1930s. Bimson made it the "people's bank" by stressing small installment loans. To do this he had the help of two federal agencies, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

One way banks make money is by charging interest on loans. Bimson borrowed money from the RFC. With new money to lend to customers, he conducted a vigorous advertising campaign. The key slogan was: "Yes, Mr. Jones, We Will Gladly Make That Loan!" Needless to say, the bank got a lot of new customers.

The United States Congress helped banks and the construction industry by creating the FHA in 1934. The FHA guaranteed bank loans for new houses and home improvements. Valley National Bank employees walked around the city and rang doorbells. They talked to people about new porches, plumbing repairs, and cooling systems. The hank made one of the first FHA loans in the nation. The money was borrowed by a young couple with a new baby. They got a loan to add a room to their house.

Governor Benjamin B. Moeur. A country doctor at Tempe, he was elected governor in 1932 and 1934.

Dr. B. B. Moeur was Arizona's governor during the depression. The most exciting event of his administration was the "Colorado River Affair." The national spotlight was focused on Moeur when he tried to stop a Los Angeles company from building a dam on the Colorado River.

"California will get no more water until Arizona is guaranteed 2,800,000 acre feet a year," Governor Moeur said. He sent a National Guard squad to patrol the site. He was embarrassed when the soldiers tried to inspect the site in two antique steamboats. The boats got entangled in a cable and the "desert sailors" had to be rescued by the "enemy" Californians. Newspapers naturally poked fun at the "Arizona navy" and its "battleships."

Later in the year, workers began building a trestle bridge from the California side of the river. Moeur sent sixty soldiers to the river "front." To avoid trouble, all construction at the dam site was stopped. The battle then moved to the U. S. Supreme Court. The court ordered Arizona not to interfere with the building of Parker Dam. Work went ahead. The dam was completed in 1938.

Parker is the world's deepest dam. Crews dug down 233 feet before reaching bedrock.

212