Politics, Labor, and the War on Big Business: The Path of Reform in Arizona, 1890-1920

1. “The Beasts”

1 5 “TheBeasts” In the 1860s Arizonans set out on a quest for economic growth. Acting in a united fashion to promote development of the area’s natural resources, territorial leaders obtained much of what they had wished for by the late 1880s—in came the railroads and the investment needed for large-scale deep–shaft mining operations. Development, however, brought concerns over corporate economic and political power and drew attention to problems that had surfaced in regard to taxation, regulation, and labor conditions. At that same time, development and population growth led to considerable heterogeneity, social and economic tension, and the emergence of partisan politics. Arizona in the 1860s was a dry and barren land of 4,000 Anglo-Americans and Mexicans, isolated from each other by distance and physical barriers, and 30,000 American Indians. The territory lacked the capital and, mainly because of Indian wars, the conditions of law and order necessary for economic development.1 Government or the lack thereof was also a problem. Arizona was part of the O n e 1 6 “ t h e b e a s t s ” New Mexico Territory, the capital of which was Santa Fe, 500 miles from Tucson where most of Arizona’s Anglo settlers lived. Tucsonans wanted a more effective government, especially when it came to protecting persons and property from crime and hostile Indians. They saw separate territorial status for Arizona as a solution.2 President James Buchanan agreed—arguing that without it, Arizonans would continue to be plagued by lawlessness and would be unable to develop their mineral and agricultural resources. In urging the US Congress to grant separate territorial status in 1858, he declared that Arizonans “are practically without a government, without laws, and without any regular administration of justice. Murder and other crimes are committed with impunity.”3 Members of Congress with constituents who had invested in Arizona mining ventures joined the demand for separate territorial status, hoping this would bring greater security and prosperity. One of these members, Representative John A. Gurley of Ohio, said to his colleagues: “I wish to say here that the people of the states have already spent more than one million of dollars in opening the silver, copper, and other mines of that Territory. Several of my constituents have been engaged in that work, and one gentleman of Cincinnati has spent $50,000 in opening silver mines. The question arises, whether the Government is not in good faith bound to protect those people who have gone out there to open these mines.”4 Congress came through in 1863, in part because of pressure from silver mining interests for better protection of their mines from Indian raids.5 Although they enjoyed separate territorial status, Arizonans remained outsiders in national politics. They could not participate in presidential elections and sent only a single nonvoting delegate to the US Congress. They had limited control over their own affairs. A governor, a secretary, judges, and other officials appointed by the US president presided over them. Governors met with an elected two-house legislature—an upper house called the Council and a lower house called the House of Representatives or Assembly. Under federal statutes, however, governors were the “supreme executive authority” in the territory, and up to 1876 they had an absolute veto over acts of the legislature. They served as the principal symbols of outside control and an unpopular form of government. Many Arizonans resented the fact that governors, in contrast to most of residents of the territory, were often easterners and Republicans.6 Many, if not most, Arizonans in the 1860s and 1870s viewed the territorial government as little more than a local arm of the federal government.7 Overall, the federal government played a dominant role in territorial affairs. It conditioned the authority of territorial officials, controlled the purse strings, and provided the troops necessary for security. 1 7 “ t h e b e a s t s ” Anglo-Americans started coming to the territory in the 1850s. This influx increased considerably after the Civil War. The migrants were often from rural areas in other states who went west to engage in mining and farming. Settlers from eastern and midwestern states tended to locate in the northern part of the territory . Many of those who migrated to the southern part of the territory came from Texas and other southern states. Migrants brought their political party allegiances...