Beehive History, Volume 18, 1992

'BEEHIVE HISTORY

18

The Governors of Utah Since statehood in 1896 Utahns have elected 14 governors. When Michael 0 . Leavitt completes the term for which he was elected in 1992, Republicans will have occupied the governor's chair for 53 years. Democrats have held the post for 48 years.

The governors reflect many aspects of the larger Utah society. For example, foreign-born immigrants have played an important role in the state's history, and three of Utah's governors were born in foreign lands: Cutler and Spry in England and Bamberger in Germany. The governors have also brought religious diversity to office.

Bamberger was a Jew, Dern a Congregationalist, and Lee, an active Mason, professed no church affiliation. The others represent aspects of the state's large Mormon population.

Mining, one of the most significant forces in the state's economic development, produced two governors: Bamberger and Dern. A number of governors taught school or served on boards of education or as university regents, and Maw and Clyde had distinguished careers as university professors. Farm and ranch chores filled the early years of several governors, and Clyde was a nationally recognized expert on a crucial agricultural necessity-water. The business community produced governors Cutler, Blood, Bangerter, and Leavitt, and the legal profession gave the state Maw, Rampton, and Matheson.

Wells, Spry, and Lee spent many years in elective or appointive public offices. Mabey, Maw, Lee, Rampton, and Bangerter served in the army during wartime.

Most of the Utah-born governors have come from the populous Wasatch Front counties. Davis County has supplied three governors to date: Mabey, Blood, and Rampton. Salt Lake County can claim Wells and Bangerter as native sons, and Maw and Clyde came from Weber and Utah counties respectively. Of the other Utah-born governors, Lee hailed from Carbon County, and Leavitt is the first governor born and raised in southern Utah.

Utahns can be proud of their governors. All have demonstrated courage in the face of difficult situations, and all have shown a commitment to serve with integrity. Each brought unique skills and perspectives to office. Each made unique contributions to the state and to its historical and political heritage.

The biographies that follow are of necessity brief, but taken together they provide a composite portrait of the state's highest elective office. Booklength biographies have been published for only two governors-Spry and Lee. Rampton and Matheson each produced book-length political memoirs, while Mabey and Maw wrote of their lives in more general terms. Several theses and dissertations have examined particular aspects of a governor's administration. Detailed information on individual governors may be found in their papers in the Utah State Archives and other repositories. Newspapers provide another major source of information on the day-to-day workings of the governor's office. A bibliography on the governors is available from the Utah State Historical Society Library, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, UT 8410 1.

before arriving in Utah. Some appointees worked with the local population in developing the territory. Others became embroiled in the Mormongentile conflict that dominated politics in the 19th century.

This list of territorial governors does not include acting governors-usually the territorial secretary-who served on an interim basis.

Brigham Young, 1850-57

Alfred Cumming, 1857-61 John W. Dawson, 1861 Stephen Selwyn Harding, 1862 James Duane Doty, 1863-64 Charles Durkee, 1865-69 John Wilson Shaffer, 1870 Vernon H. Vaughan, 1870

Utah's Territorial Governors

From the formation of Utah Territory in 1850 to the granting of statehood on January 4, 1896, the president of the United States appointed Utah's governors. All were outsiders except Brigham Young. Often referred to as carpetbaggers, most had practiced law and pursued political office

George Lemuel Woods, 1871-74 Samuel Beach Axtell, 1875 George W. Emery, 1875-80 Eli Houston Murray, 1880-86 Caleb Walton West, 1886-88,1893-96 Arthur Lloyd Thomas, 1889-92

L-R: Former territorial governor Arthur L. Thomas; former state governors Heber M. Wells, John C. Cutler, William Spry, and Simon Bamberger; and Gov. Charles R. Mabey at the Weber Club, Ogden, early 7920s.

Heber Manning Wells Utah's youngest governor led the first state government.

Heber Manning Wells, the first governor of the 45th state, was born August 11, 1859, in Salt Lake City, one of 36 children. His father, Daniel H. Wells, held several important posts, including mayor of Salt Lake City, head of the territorial militia, and counselor to Brigham Young. Heber's mother, Martha G. Harris, one of polygamist Daniel's seven wives, was a gifted storyteller.

By age 16 Heber had completed his education at the University of Deseret (Utah), at that time the equivalent of a high school. An excellent swimmer and diver, he was also an accomplished actor and appeared in many plays, often as the romantic lead.

On January 15, 1880, Heber married Mary Elizabeth Beatie. The couple had three children-Manning Beatie, Heber Daniel, and Mary Beatie-before Mary Elizabeth's death in October 1888 shortly after the birth of her third child. On October 15, 1892, Heber married Theresa Clawson, a widow and fellow member of the Home Dramatic Club and the Wasatch Literary Society. They became the parents of two daughters, Martha and Florence. Theresa died in July 1897 after a lengthy illness. Wells was married for a third time on June 5 , 1901, to Emily Katz, chair of the children's parade for the 1897 Semi-centennial and society editor of the Salt Lake Herald. Heber and Emily had two sons, John Katz and Peter Katz.

Wells began his public service career as a tax collector for Salt Lake City in 1877 while still in his teens. In 1882 he was appointed city recorder to fill a vacancy and won three additional terms, serving until 1890. Two years later he ran for mayor but lost to incumbent Robert N. Baskin.

Wells also participated in the constitutional conventions of 1887 and 1895.

A few days before the August 28, 1895, Republican convention Wells announced his candidacy for governor. He defeated the front-runners, party chairman Charles Crane and former territorial governor Arthur L. Thomas, on the second ballot.

The other Republican nominees created a carefully balanced ticket of Mormons and non-Mormons that also had geographical diversity. The Democrats nominated former delegate to Congress John T. Caine and the Populists chose Henry W. Lawrence to oppose Wells.

Without radio or television, the candidates used rallies, parades, and pamphlets to appeal to the

voters and traveled by train to many communities.

Lorenzo Turner, a Delta, Utah, man, remembered an 1895 campaign jingle: Farewell Heber you may never In the same class be with Cain(e).

When the November fight is over You'll be numbered with the slain.

The election on November 5 , 1895, may have been the most important ever held in Utah. When the votes were counted the new constitution-with its ban against polygamy and its equal rights for women-had won the overwhelming support of

Heber M. Wells

male voters. Heber M. Wells at age 36 was elected governor with 20,833 votes to Caine's 18,519 and Lawrence's 2,051. All state officials were elected for an initial term of five years to allow state elections to be aligned in 1900 with the presidential election.

On January 4, 1896, President Grover Cleveland signed the statehood proclamation. After elaborate and joyful ceremonies celebrating statehood and inaugurating officials on January 6, Wells and the Legislature began to tackle the new state's problems. An immediate concern was where to house state government. The governor and Secretary of State James T. Hammond found temporary quarters in the Industrial Christian Home (later the Ambassador Club, 145 South Fifth East, demolished in 1987). Eventually the state rented space for all its officers in the City and County Building until the Capitol was completed in 1916.

The first state legislative session, authorized to run for 90 days, sent more than 60 bills to the gov-

ernor, many dealing with such "nuts and bolts" matters as the organization of state courts and state offices. Wells also signed into law bills requiring election reforms, including the Australian (secret) ballot; authorizing a commission to codify existing laws; and establishing the eight-hour day for underground miners and smelter workers. The Legislature approved Wells's recommendation to issue $200,000 in bonds to meet immediate financial needs. Railroad regulation, urged by Wells, was rejected by legislators after lively debate.

In m i d - ~ ~ r1896 i l E. B. ~ritchldw,a Republican state senator, accused the Mormon church of interfering in politics by setting up a church committee to review legislation and advise Mormon legislators. George Q. Cannon denied the church intended to supervise the legislative process, and Governor Wells disavowed any church influence in his decisions.

Wells's ongoing concern over water led to the passage in 1897 of the first state laws pertaining to irrigation and water rights. The Legislature and Wells also agreed to establish a Branch Normal School in southern Utah (now Southern Utah University in Cedar City).

The Spanish-American War dominated the news in 1898. In response to a federal request, Wells called for 500 volunteers. Some 660 Utahns were mustered into service at Fort Douglas early in May. Naming unit officers and reviewing troops may have been one of Wells's most signifcant assignments in 1898. In that era U.S. governors spent much of their time filling ceremonial functions. The weight of state business in Utah was often minimal, especially when the Legislature was not in session.

Addressing the biennial session of the Legislature in 1899, Wells noted the state's improved economy from growth in mining and agriculture and construction of a rail line to southern California underway. Frustrated by the lack of accurate statistical information on resources, the governor asked for the creation of a State Bureau of Statistics and Immigration, a request that would not be granted until the next session. He also pointed to frontier conditions in parts of eastern Utah where outlaws challenged local law enforcement officials. Perhaps the most farreaching measure endorsed by Wells was a bill to accept 60 acres of Fort Douglas land from the federal government and move the University of Utah from the northwest part of the city to the east bench. The governor also signed Alice Merrill Horne's bill creating the State Institute of Art (present Utah Arts Council), reportedly the first state-sponsored arts organization.

State Senate, 7897, at City and County Building, included first woman legislator, Martha Hughes Cannon, right. Women on left were probably Senate employees.

One of the great tragedies in Utah history occurred on May 1, 1900, when 200 men lost their lives in an explosion at the Winter Quarters mine near Scofield in Carbon County. With no state or federal relief programs available, Wells appointed a committee to coordinate private relief efforts that netted $216,290 in donations for affected families.

Wells's political popularity peaked in September 1900 when the GOP nominated him by acclamation to run for a second term. In November he outpolled Democrat James H. Moyle, 47,608 to 44,447.

Addressing the Legislature in January 1901, Wells endorsed the national movement for the direct election of U.S. senators (17th Amendment, ratified 1913). He praised the work of Emma J. McVicker, whom he had appointed in September 1900 as superintendent of public instruction to fill the vacancy created by the death of John R. Park.

She was the first woman named to a high post in state government in Utah.

Among the major proposals made by Wells and passed during the 1901 session were measures establishing the School of Mines at the University of President Theodore Roosevelt and Governor in 7 903.

ells

Utah and a State Bureau of Statistics. Other bills signed by Wells regulated the insurance industry, prov~ded a unlform examlnatlon for public ~choolteachers, and Increased mlne safety requ~rementsIn response to the Scofield tragedy. A 5 percent tax on ~nher~tances over $10,000 was levled to ralse addit~onalrevenue for the state.

The recommendat~onsWells made to the 1903 Legislature included a comprehensive package deallng wlth Irrigation and water rights and measures to solve problems with diseased livestock and contammated dalry products that were, the governor said, glving Utah's agricultural products a bad reputation and hlnderlng their sale outside the ctate The Legislature responded by passing a number of b ~ l l saddrewng these issue$.

In November 1903 coal miners in Carbon County went out on str~kedemanding the right to unionlze and protesting the short-weigh~ngof coal, v~olat~ons of Utah's elght-hour workday, and company store pollcles The governor sent Gen. John Q. Cannon of the Utah Natlonal Guard to Investigate. His report Influenced Wells to send some 300 guardsmen to Carbon County at a cost of $25,000, wh~chthe governor was forced to borrow from a New York bank Although profess~ng neutrahty, Wells and other officials were susp~c~ous of the unlon movement and of the large number of fore~gn-bornmlners As a result, the act~v~tiesof the striking mlners were closely watched wh~lethose of the company guards were not. The str~kefizzled out in 1904.

As he neared the end of his second term, Wells wanted to run for U S senator. Party leaders d~scouragedhim, and he tried instead for a third term as governor. At the 1904 COP state convention Wells faced stlff opposltlon. Although the expense of the 1903 strike seems min~malby late 20th century standards, $25,000 represented almost half of the budget proposed to operate the State Industrial School for two years. Wells lost the nominat~onby a vote of 221 to 239 to John C. Cutler, a wealthy and influentla1 bus~nessman.

Wells's retlrement from publlc office was relat~velybrief. After servlng as the managlng director of Utah Savings and Trust Company, he was elected to the Salt Lake C ~ t yCommission in 1913.

In 1921 he secured the federal post of asslstant treasurer of the U S. Shipplng Board Fleet Corporatlon, and from 1925 until his retlrement in 1933 he served as the board's treasurer. Upon his return to Utah he became one of the chief editorlal writers for the Deseret News.

Wells d ~ e dat his home in the Belvedere Apartments In Salt Lake City on March 12, 1938, of an apparent stroke. -MBM

John C.Cutler

John Christopher Cutler H i s four years as governor have been largely forgotten.

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Utah's second governor was the first holder of that office born outside the United States. That thre,e of the state's first four governors were foreign-born demonstratesthe continuing importance of immigration to.Utah in the late 19th.and early 20th centuries.

The son of merchant John Cutler and Elizabeth Robjnson, John Christopher was born on February 5, 1846, in Sheffield, England, and attended school there. At age 12 he became a clerk for a wholesale house in Manchester, living away from home until 1864 when ,his family, converts to the Mormon church, emigrated., In Utah his fat he^;'^ polygamous marriages gave him a total of 11 brothers and sisters.

I As a new arrival in the territpry young John helped with farming chores and hauled wood. In 1871 he became a clerk for merchant Thomas Taylor whose daughter, s i r a h Elizabeth, he married in Aplril of that,year. They became the parents of seven children: John Christopher, Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, Herbert Elliot, Mabel Blanche, Alfred Thomas, Harold George, and Hazel Alice. , At age 30 Cutler became the agent for the Provo woolen Mills, a' position he secured with the approval of ~ r i ~ h a ~m o' u n Cutler's ~ : agency was highly successful in creating a market for wool i k d u c t s from the ?iil. Later, through his business connections, he received directorships in

Prove

many local banks and companies. From 1884 to 1890, when he was sent on an LDS mission to Great Britain, Cutler served as Salt Lake County clerk.

In the early 20th century a handful of Republicans-mostly men who had received federal appointments through U.S. Sen. Reed Smootbecame a powerful political force within the state.

Their principal aims were to keep Smoot in the Senate and to control the GOP in Utah and maintain it in power. Dubbed the Federal Bunch, the group included, among others, Edward H. Callister, James H. Anderson, and William Spry.

As early as 1902 they began to plan for a successor to Heber M. Wells as governor. Both Callister and Cutler were mentioned as possible candidates.

Callister seemed to have the inside track to the nomination, but he withdrew from the race. Some historians say he did so because Joseph F. Smith, LDS church president, preferred Cutler. With the backing of the Federal Bunch, Cutler was able to secure the GOP nomination for governor on the second ballot by a vote of 239 to 21 1 over Wells.

Republicans like mining millionaire Thomas Kearns, a Catholic, complained of party domination by Mormons, and in September 1904 they formed the American party to promote their views.

A campaign pamphlet pictured Cutler as a man experienced in public affairs, an enlightened capitalist who recognized the rights of labor, a developer and promoter of Utah industry, and an ideal family man. Additionally, Cutler was in the right place at the right time. Republicans in Utah posted a tremendous win in 1904. Although Cutler ran behind Theodore Roosevelt at the top of the national Republican ticket, he easily defeated Democrat James H. Moyle, 50,837 to 38,047. The American party candidate for governor, William M. Ferry, garnered 7,959 votes and Socialist Joseph A. Kaufman 4,892.

In his inaugural address in January 1905, Cutler proposed no great changes in state government, saying that successful policies would be continued, expenses carefully watched, and taxes reduced if possible. A few days later, when Cutler addressed a joint session of the Legislature, he urged them to pass only necessary, clearly written legislation.

The most important measure approved by cutler in 1905 established a juvenile court system in Utah's first and second class cities. It addressed serious shortcomings in the treatment of minors who ran afoul of the law or suffered neglect at the hands of parents or guardians.

Cutler also signed a bill that created a Board of Park Commissioners to manage any state parks Utah might establish and bills that required the

registration of births and deaths with the State Board of Health and the codification and annotation of state laws. He vetoed a highway bill that would have given each county up to $2,000 for road construction and maintenance.

Addressing the 1907 Legislature, Cutler proposed that a State Capitol be built. Although nothing came of it during his governorship, his call for a permanent home for state government may have made it easier for his successor to accomplish the task. Cutler's request for an institution to care for certain handicapped individuals was also ignored.

Major legislation approved by Cutler in 1907 regulated the practice of optometry, required cities to award contracts for public improvements to the lowest bidder, created a Teachers Retirement Act, and gave state protection to prehistoric relics.

Cutler's approach to government reflected his business background and put him at a disadvantage in the game of politics. He failed to consult the Federal Bunch when making appointments and, rather than aligning himself with any faction of the Republican party, appeared to seek party unity.

During a 1908 Arbor Day event, for example, his invited guests included Republicans who had supported American party candidates for state office in 1904. Senator Smoot reacted to Cutler's independence by telling him in July 1908 that the Federal Bunch was backing William Spry for governor and that Joseph F. Smith agreed that Spry would draw more votes. Cutler protested to no avail. Disappointed, he advised his supporters that he was withdrawing in favor of Spry.

Deseret ~vational Bank nearing completion at First South andMain in Salt Lake City, 7978. Cutler was president of this bank.

William Spry Utah's beautiful State Capitol was built during his administration.

William Spry was born January 11, 1864, in Windsor, Berkshire, England, the son of Philip and Sarah TownSend Spry. As a youth he was a delivery boy for a local shoe store and also managed to receive most of his formal education while still in England. His father worked as a tailor and his mother worked as a seamstress at Windsor Castle. His parents had 13 children, but only William and two brothers, George and Samuel, survived. In the early 1870s Spry's parents joined the Mormon church, and the family emigrated to Utah in 1875. In Salt Lake City his father set up a tailor shop.

Spry attended school for a short time in Salt Lake City but dropped out at the age of 13, continuing his education on his own through reading. In 1877 he started working for William Jennings, Utah's first millionaire. After six years he left to work in a succession of jobs, including section hand for the railroad, blacksmith, and in the hide and wool business. From 1885 to 1891 he served as a missionary for the Mormon church in the South. At the age of 23 he was appointed president of the Southern States Mission, directing missionary activities in nine states.

Vacationing in Salt Lake City in 1890, Spry reiewed his acquaintance with Mary Alice Wrathall of Grantsville whom he had met on a visit home a year earlier. They were married on July 1, 1890,

t -R: Col. C. E. LooseT Sen. Reed Smoot, Utah-born actress Hazel Dawn, Gov. William Spry, and Capt. William S. Benson in the N e w York Navy Yard for presentat& of silver service to the USS Utahin 7976.

in the Logan LDS Temple. The Sprys had three children: Mary Alice Spry Woolley, Lita Maria Spry Foss, and James Wrathall Spry.

Spry moved his family to Tooele County in 1893 where he worked at a variety of jobs, including ranching, until he found a niche in politics. In 1894 he was elected tax collector for Tooele County, and in 1903 and 1905 he was elected to the Utah House of Representatives. The young politician also became involved as an important member of Sen. Reed Smoot's Federal Bunch, a major force in Republican and Utah politics in the early 20th century. As a Smoot supporter Spry won election as chairman of the Republican State Committee in 1904. The following year he was named president of the State Land Board, and in 1906 he was appointed U.S. marshal for Utah and at that time made Salt Lake City his permanent home.

Emmeline B. Wells, seated left, and unidentified women in Governor Spry's ofice, February 79 7 6.

two dry bills emerged in the Legislature. One was blocked by Republican legislators and the other vetoed by Spry. Because Reed Smoot feared that statewide Prohibition would revive the Mormonlgentile conflict and endanger his seat in the U.S. Senate, he and the Federal Bunch, including Spry, favored local option. When the 1911 Legislature passed a local option law Spry signed it. Most Utah communities-except Salt Lake City, Ogden, and a number of mining towns-opted to go dry. This nevertheless meant that a majority of the population still had legal access to alcoholic beverages. Another statewide Prohibition bill was passed in 1915, and again Spry vetoed it.

The building of the State Capitol was high on Spry's list of priorities. On February 25, 1909, he proposed a one-mill levy to fund the building.

Voters rejected the levy at a special election on June 8. The project remained at a standstill until the settlement of the estate of multimillionaire Edward H. Harriman who had many investments in Utah. The state received $798,546 in inheritance taxes on March 1, 1.911. With this unexpected windfall to the state treasury, the Legislature authorized a million-dollar bond issue and Spry appointed a Capitol Commission to oversee the project. The Capitol was officially dedicated on October 9, 1916.

Cartoonist Alan J. Lovey depicted Spry as U.S. marshal.

In 1908 Spry was chosen by Republican leaders to run for governor against John Cutler whom party leaders felt would have a difficult time being reelected. The American party had drawn off some non-Mormon Republicans, and the wealthy Cutler was criticized by some for his extensive business interests. Spry won the governor's race with 52,913 votes against Democrat J. William Knight, 43,266; American party candidate James A. Street, 11,404; and Socialist V. R. Bohman, 3,936.

In his message to the Legislature on January 12, 1909, Spry emphasized the need for a State Capitol, an armory for the National Guard, and a variety of other measures. Glaring by its omission from his address was Prohibition. In Utah the national Prohibition movement had begun to exert a strong influence on state politics, and in 1909

Spry with m l r r r u rrcuusrs r and cadets at West High School, May 19 1 1.

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Spry was also interested in the development of the state's natural resources, endorsed the creation of a State Horticultural Commission, and worked for passage of food and drug legislation that created a State Dairy and Food Bureau and required Utah standards to conform with the federal Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. He also established committees on banking policies, industrial safety, and irrigation and water rights. In 1909 the Utah State Road Commission was created under which registration of motor vehicles was made mandatory and speed limits set.

Spry ran for reelection in 1912, winning with 42,552 votes against 36,076 for Democrat John F. Tolton and 23,591 for Progressive Nephi L. Morris. Voters failed to ratify proposed amendments to the constitution that would have reformed the tax code, and Spry called for legislative tax reform to equalize the tax burden and generate sufficient revenue to operate state government.

Among the many measures signed into law by Spry in 1913 were bills making it a crime to write checks with insufficient funds or obtain credit under false pretenses. The University of Utah was authorized to conduct archaeological and historical excavations. A husband and wife living together were given joint and equal custody of their children, and in a bill of far-reaching consequence counties were instructed to give partial support to mothers dependent on their own efforts for the maintenance of their children.

Spry's legislative successes paled in comparison to the sensational events of 1914-15. On January 10, 1914, John G. Morrison, a grocer, and his son Arling were shot to death in Salt Lake City by two masked assailants. The Swedish immigrant IWW President William Howard Tuft and Governor Spry, 7909.

Spry in left rear of car on a visit to the State Capitol construction site, November 7 9 75.

songwriter Joseph Hillstrom (Joe Hill) was tried and convicted of the crime. The state's case against Hill was largely circumstantial, and some saw his conviction as punishment for his radical background rather than his connection with the crime. Spry was besieged with appeals from all over the world to give Hill a new trial, to free him outright, or to commute his death sentence. Spry refused to intervene-despite pleas from Swedish diplomats and Woodrow Wilson-unless new evidence was found. As a result of his stand, Spry and his family received numerous death threats.

Hill was executed by firing squad on November 19, 1915.

In 1916 Spry ran for a third term as governor but lost in the Republican nominating convention to Nephi L. Morris. Spry's support for local option on the Prohibition issue probably cost him the nomination. In 1918 he ran for Congress in Utah's Second District in a race where no one actively campaigned because of the imminent conclusion of World War I, the influenza epidemic, and severe weather problems. In the Democratic sweep of that year, Republican Spry lost to James H. Mays by a vote of 16,446 to 11,467. He then served as a paid representative of the Western Irrigation Association until 1921 when Warren G. Harding appointed him U.S. commissioner of the General Land Office. Spry announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 1928 but withdrew due to failing health. He died of a stroke on April 21, 1929, in Washington, D. C., and was buried in Salt Lake City. -LT

Utah State Textbook Commission, 79 78, with Governor Bamberger in the center o f the front row.

He was an ardent supporter o f education.

Simon Bamberger A n energetic entrepreneur, he also achieved many progressive reforms.

Utah voters shattered three traditions at once in 1916 when they elected Simon Bamberger as their governor. He was the first Democrat, the first nonMormon, and the first Jew to hold the state's highest office. An entrepreneur in mining and railroad building, he served during a period when progressive legislation was in vogue and the nation faced the problems of World War I. Simon Bamberger was born in Darmstadt, Germany, on February 27, 1845, a son of Emanuel and Helen Fleish Bamberger. He had three brothers, Herman, Jacob, and Louis, and a sister, Setta. His father was a strong supporter of the 1848 democratic movement in Germany and was imprisoned for his views-a fact that his young son never forgot. Simon emigrated to the United States at the start of the Civil War, joining his brother Herman. With only a rudimentary common school education and no knowledge of the English language, he worked for his brother in various retail businesses in the Midwest, eventually settling in St. Louis, where he and his brother established a wholesale mercantile business.

One of the firm's customers in Cheyenne, Wyoming, owed a large sum to the Bambergers, and Simon set out to find him and collect it. He

found that the debtor had moved farther west in Wyoming, following the progress of the Union Pacific Railroad toward the eventual "wedding of the rails" in Utah. When the wholesale business failed, Simon seized the opportunity to build a new career in the West. He operated a store serving the railroad workers as the rail lines inched their way west and set up a kind of banking business, buying and discounting paychecks. Later, he dabbled in mining in western Wyoming, but the loss of much of his investment in Indian raids convinced him that it was time to move farther west.

His first experience in Utah might have discouraged a less optimistic person. He became a partner in a hotel in Ogden, but when an outbreak of smallpox placed Ogden in quarantine, leaving the hotel without guests, he abandoned that venture. Moving on to Salt Lake City, he purchased another hotel but soon decided that his future lay in the rapidly developing mining industry. The foundation of his fortune was the Centennial-Eureka Mine in the Tintic District in the 1880s. At the same time he turned his attention to the coal mines of Sanpete County, which involved another major interest-railroading. He went to England and borrowed a million dollars to build a railroad connection from Sanpete County to Nephi. This venture was not successful because of an inferior type of coal and stiff competition from other railroads.

He continued his involvement with other mining

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Salt Lake & Ogden Railway, popularly called the Bamberger Railroad, at Simon Bamberger's Lagoon resort in Farmington.

ventures: the famous Bullion-Beck Mines, the Daly West Mining Company (with his brothers Jacob and Herman), and a vast Nevada mining empire, using innovative methods of metal recovery, all consolidated into the Bamberger-De LaMar Gold Mining Co. in 1902.

In the 1890s Simon Bamberger was pursuing another dream-a railroad from Salt Lake City to Ogden, with a resort in Farmington midway between the two cities. Completed to Farmington in 1896 when the popular Lagoon resort was opened

by Bamberger, the line reached Ogden in 1908. In 1910 it was converted to electricity-a boon to the environment in an era dominated by coal-fired locomotives.

Near the turn of the century Bamberger began a distinguished career in public service, marked by an intense interest in education and a passion for bringing economy and efficiency to government.

Selected unanimously to fill out a term on the Salt Lake City Board of Education, he ran for a full term and served from 1898 until 1903. In 1902 he was elected to the Utah State Senate where he sharpened his focus on education and successfully sponsored a bill to permit kindergartens in large school districts.

In 1916 he announced his candidacy for the United States Senate but stepped aside for a fellowDemocrat, William H. King, who won the seat.

Urged to run for governor, he bucked a "gentleman's agreement" that the parties would always nominate a Mormon for that office and balance the rest of their tickets with Mormons and non-Mormons. Despite notable Democratic victories in other races, Utahns had never chosen a Democrat for their chief executive. Why would they now choose a foreign-born Jew with a thick German accent?

There were good reasons. While remaining active in his own religion, Bamberger had a wide circle of both Mormon and non-Mormon friends

and was well known throughout the state. He had a reputation as a philanthropist who did not flaunt his good deeds-buying flour and coal for the needy and offering free days at Lagoon for disadvantaged groups. Still there were those persistent political traditions in Utah. Meeting the issue head-on at the Democratic State Convention, the noted Mormon orator and church General Authority, Brigham H. Roberts, argued in his speech nominating Bamberger that it was time to change a tradition that was "anomalous and utterly unAmerican." observing that Bamberger could not be challenged for business and administrative capacity, intellectual fitness, moral integrity, or the uprightness of his private life, Roberts argued that "The people of Utah should be the very last to make objections to candidates for office on such grounds as race and religion."

Running on an extremely progressive, reformoriented Democratic platform, Bamberger took an uncompromising stand on Prohibition-he was for it without reservation, while the Republican party during this period had taken a more accommodating approach. A non-drinker and nonsmoker himself, Bamberger emphasized that he had closed his saloon at Lagoon at considerable financial loss. In the final election he defeated Mormon Nephi L. Morris, winning nearly 55 percent of the vote. Nationwide and statewide, it was a year for Democratic candidates to ride the wave of progressivism; the Utah State Senate elected in 1916 was over three-fourths Democratic and the House was 95 percent Democratic.

In his message to the Legislature on January 9, 1917, Governor Bamberger urged a constitutional amendment establishing absolute prohibition of liquor within the borders of the state. Noting that he faced a deficit of nearly half a million dollars, he urged stringent economy and more efficient ways of operating goverment and emphasized the need to capture more revenue from mining companies and large property owners who had been underassessed. He spoke out forcefully for improving Bamberger promoted the sale of Liberty Bonds in Utah and the Midwest during World War I.

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education, pa~ticularlyteachers' salaries: "I fear that there is a tendency to spend too much for architecture in school buildings and too little for the brains and scholarship of the teachers of the state."

Perhaps recognizing that he had pushed a heavy agenda before the 1917 Legislature-said to be the most progressive in the state's history-he made few demands on the 1919 regular and special sessions. He did, however, obtain legislation providing for vocational education in the schools and strengthened the school attendance law.

When he left office in 1920.the prohibition amendment had been passed (subsequently approved by the voters), a Workmen's Compensation Act had been approved.,. a Public Service Commission to reguhate utilities aria transportation companies was established, the state had begun a.comprehensive road-building program, and a more equitable method of I assessing and taxing mines had been enacted, which wouldbenefi~tthe schools as well a s other state instiltuhions. He had initiated measures to findlllands that were escaping taxation. By practicing stringent, economy the budget deficit had been eliminated. In addition to promoting his ambitiousl I .legisllative program, Bamberger toured severall lmidwestenn states after .the outbreak of Worldl War1 I on behalf of the the .Liberty Loan d~;ivelandlpushedleachcampaign over its quota.

Hel-was praised by both. Salt Lake City daily newspaper,^ ifor his performance as governor. "He has b'een ~i,gilantand business-like, yet singularly' ahfable -andr I approachable, " proclaimed the

Deseret News, and held "the assured respect and esteeinlof all lthe people of the state. " A Salt Lake Tribmd editbtii~l~lauded.him for "administration of the SLate's Bffairs with sympathetic understanding andl constant aleitness to t h e call of humanityh.r"~Declining to run again for. governor, Bambergq said he hoped to spend the restlof his life building a railroad from the Unita Basin to Proio,piahiGh would make possible the dev e l . o p ~ r ~ f ~ t . h e l n a t uresources ral of that area. He did not live to see this dream fulfilled.

Zefi ~ W a s ~ ~qf ~ a alstrong l;t and close fam[barl~aasin Cincinnalti in 1'881 and i & li 2$d:i_ne'y, a close business asiJ!bTiiliilltumor a&age {westy- ~ j @ a t h , ~ I ~ Et'e_rZ$r

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Born October 4, 1877, in Bountiful, Utah, Charles Rendell Mabey grew to manhood on a family farm in that pleasant little Davis County community. Years later he recounted in eloquent detail the "haunting memory of happy, care-free youth" and the joys of the agrarian way of life. His was a childhood and adolescence bounded by the comforts and security of a large, close-knit family.

Charles was the third surviving son of Joseph T. and Sarah Lucretia Tolman Mabey. He was one of 11 children who grew to maturity in that thrifty, industrious family. At age 15, possessing only a fifth-grade education, he enrolled at the University of Utah. He obviously enjoyed his three and a half years there and developed a life-long love of learning and teaching.

Following his graduation from the university, "Charl," as he was familiarly called, spent much of the next decade as a teacher and school administrator. He interrupted that professional activity with a stint in the army during the SpanishAmerican War. Enlisting with the Utah National Guard, he saw action in the Philippines and was later awarded a citation for gallantry. k t the end of the conflict he was mustered out with the rank of sergeant.

A year later, young Mabey began a three-year LDS church mission to Germany. Not long after his return he married Afton Rampton. They were

to raise four sons, Rendell, Charles, Robert, and Edward.

The future Governor Mabey began his political career first by serving as justice of the peace, then as city councilman and mayor of Bountiful. He later won election to two terms in the Utah State Legislature, 1912-16, and took special pride in authoring the bill that outlawed race-track gambling.

He won nomination as the Republican candidate to Congress in 1916 but was defeated in the Democratic landslide that fall.

Then came World War I. Ever the patriot, Mabey again entered active duty with the Utah National Guard. Commissioned a captain and later promoted to major, he was assigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as an instructor at the artillery school.

At war's end he returned home to his family and job at Bountiful State Bank.

A proven leader, handsome, articulate, and experienced in local and state politics, Charles Mabey was tailor-made as a gubernatorial candidate by 1920. At the Republican convention, following a deadlock between the front-running candidates, delegates turned to Mabey as the dark horse. On the fifth ballot he emerged as the party standard bearer.

All the ingredients of success came together for candidate Mabey in the summer and fall of 1920.

Party leadership united solidly behind him, and the press endorsed him. He campaigned vigorously, promising development of the state's resources

and pledging economy in state administration.

Voters everywhere were warming to the Republican points of view. Little wonder that Charles Mabey won by a record majority: 86,6 18 to 54,9 13 votes, defeating his Democratic opponent, T. N. Taylor, by a margin of 22 percent.

The new governor wasted no time in acting on his platform plank to streamline state administration. His committee on reorganization guided nearly 30 bills through the Legislature and to the governor's desk for signature. These measures created a Department of Agriculture and abolished the Livestock Commission, Crop Pest Commission, Apiaries Commission, and the Board of Horse Commissioners. They initiated a Department of Registration and gave it the duties formerly held by nine boards, which were then abolished.

They also created a Department of Finance and Purchase and gave it extensive powers to monitor the financial transactions and accounting systems of all other state agencies.

Other important reorganization measures included revamping the Land Board, reducing membership of the Board of Equalization, and terminating the Board of Park Commissioners as well as the Publicity and Development Board.

Mabey's reorganization program was forwardlooking and badly needed. Much of it is still visible today, having stood the test of over seventy years.

The economies were visible almost immediately.

The cost of administration fell sharply, from $704,884, or 7.7 percent of the budget, in fiscal year 1921 to $538,230, or 5.9 percent of the budget, in fiscal year 1922.

Another program dear to Governor Mabey's heart was upgrading the quality of public education in the state. Under his promptings the Legislature immediately increased education appropriations from $3,949,845, or 43 percent of the budget, in fiscal year 1921 to $4,605,101, or 50.1 percent of The opening of the baseball season in Salt Lake City used to be a maior event. The southpaw governor throws out the first ball.

the state budget, in fiscal year 1922. In further response to the governor's plea, the Legislature established a tax levy of $25 for each person of school age in the state. By 1924 the education budget reached $5 million.

Numerous indicators suggest that a qualitative improvement accrued to public education from these appropriation increases. From 1918 to 1924 the ratio of students to teachers in the elementary grades fell from 34.4 to 29.8. During that same six-year period the number of uncertified teachers decreased 50 percent, and the percentage of school-age children actually enrolled climbed from 80 to 92. Standards for teacher certification were upgraded as well.

The Mabey governorship was also noteworthy for its development of Utah roads. During the first

license tax and to float a $1 million bond issue to fund existing road contracts. He promoted the construction of nearly 500 miles of roads duringthe second biennium, which greatly exceeded any previous two-year period.

Mabey's most lasting achievement in highway construction, however, was undoubtedly the precedent he set of participation in the federal grants-in-aid program to the maximum extent. He sought and achieved a 2.5-cent per gallon tax on gasoline to raise the state's quota of matching funds. Federal highway aid to Utah increased from $156,292 in 1920 to over $1.3 million in 1924.

Another Mabey initiative that enhanced future development of the state dealt with water. Under his guidance Utah entered into the Colorado River Compact, an agreement essential to the state's long-range interests.

A question frequently pondered by political historians is why, with all of Governor Mabey's apparent successes, was he not re-elected in 1924.

The answer relates in part to the national economic picture but also to the nature of Utah politics at the time and to matters of political personality.

Much of Mabey's governorship occurred during a period of economic recession. Agriculture, then Utah's leading industry, was especially hard hit.

Prices for farm products dropped drastically between 1919 and 1922. Manufacturing, trade, and mining suffered similarly. Commercial failures in the state jumped from 67 in 1919 to 148 in 1922.

Coal production dropped. Though a state governor could do little to treat these problems, voter dissatisfaction nearly always runs high during times of economic distress.

Moreover, Mabey had shown some reluctance from the outset to cooperate with party spoilsmen.

Governor Mabey poses by a giant slab of Carbon Countv coal in the State C a ~ i t oexhibit l area.

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Utah government in the early 1920s was still based largely on patronage politics. Very early in his term Mabey rebuffed one particularly influential ward heeler, George Wilson, in refusing to accept a list of names that the Wilson clique expected to be given state appointments. Asked at that time if he were committed to being a one-term governor, Mabey replied, "Perhaps, but during that time I will be governor. ' ' On a related note, Charles Mabey seems never to have been particularly comfortable with the give and take of politics. A reading of his semiautobiographical work, My Father's House, reveals him as a very proper, somewhat humorless man whose personality projected hints of selfrighteousness. He abhorred compromise where "principle was involved. " Though undoubtedly a good man, honest and upright, he was correctly assessed by the Deseret News many years later as "not inherently a political thinker.

Even though Mabey was soundly defeated by George Dern in the 1924 election, he Yeft office with many lasting achievements to his credit.

Historians see him as a pivotal figure in moving state administration and development into the modern era.

After leaving the governor's office, Charles Mabey returned to the business world that he loved. He remained active in church and civic affairs clear up until the time of his death which occurred April 26, 1959, at age 81. -SJ L "

Gov. George Dern prepares to speak into KDYL radio microphone in his ofice on June 28, 7 930.

George Henry Dern Businessman, Democratic Progressive, governor, and secretary of war George Henry Dern, two-term Democratic governor and later secretary of war in the cabinet of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was born on September 8, 1872, in Dodge County, Nebraska. His father, John Dern, a prominent farmer-businessman, invested in mining property at Mercur, Utah, facilitating the elder Dern's migration to the Beehive State in the early 1890s. Following in his father's footsteps, young George migrated to Utah after completing his studies at the University of Nebraska in 1894.

George Dern assumed the position of bookkeeper in his father's enterprise, the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling Company. He quickly moved up in the company, becoming general manager in 1900. Following the company's growth into the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mine Company, Dern quickly developed a reputation as both an efficient manager and innovator. He developed a vacuum slime filter process and the Holt-Dern roasting process. The latter was utilized by various mining concerns both in the United States and abroad. In the wake of the Consolidated Mercur's shutdown in 1913, Dern managed mining concerns in other parts of Utah, namely Park City's famous Ontario Mine (1912-15); the Tintic Milling Co., in partnership with Jessie Knight (1915-19); and the famous Emma Mine in the Alta Mining District (19 19-20). Dern was also involved in a wide variety of other Utah business concerns, including ranching, dairying, public utilities, and banking.

Meanwhile, in 1899 he married Lottie Brown, also

a native of Nebraska, and they became the parents of five children.

George Dern also turned his energies to politics, becoming a noted progressive reformer following his election to the Utah State Senate in 1914.

Despite being a non-Mormon and a Democrat in a state that was predominantly Mormon with strong Republican tendencies, Dern got along well politically. Besides being "tall and well-built with a ruggedly handsome face and a ready smile," he was congenial, empathic, and willing to listen to all points of view. These qualities served him well as he worked with his fellow legislators in seeking solutions to various political problems during Utah's Progressive Era. During his eight years in the State Legislature, from 1915 to 1923, he was the author of several important progressive

Dern and Col. Howard C. Price review 38th U.S. Infantry at Fort Douglas in May 7 93 7.

measures, including a Workman's Compensation Act, an Absent Voter's Act, a Mineral Leasing Act, a Securities Commission Act, and a Corrupt Practices Act. Dern achieved his greatest political triumph with election as Utah's sixth governor in 1924. His position as a Democrat and a non-Mormon defeating incumbent governor Charles R. Mabey, a Mormon and Republican, during a year of Republican ascendency underscores the dimensions of this victory. Out of this election came a catchy campaign jingle exhorting the appeal of Dern while at the same time playing on strong voter dissatisfaction with incumbent governor Mabey: "We want a Dern good governor, and we don't mean Mabey! " The personal nature of Dern's victory was further illustrated in that he was the only Democrat elected to statewide office in 1924 and by the fact that both houses of the State Legislature remained overwhelmingly Republican. Despite this, Dern was able to work with the Legislature in securing the enactment of legislation requiring compulsory certification for all school teachers, regulations extending the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission, and a new law expanding automobile regulation.

More noteworthy and reflective of his progressive philosophy, Dern secured revision of Utah's tax laws in favor of middle and lower income groups. As Utah's governor he successfully pushed for a greater share of federal matching funds for highway construction and other programs. He secured tranfer of mineral lands from the federal government to the state, thereby gen-

L-R: Dr. Leon L. Watters, Tom Arimo, George Dern, Jake A rimo, and Dr. Weston Vernon at 7 924 Pioneer Day celebration in Logan.

erating greater revenue for Utah. He also gained ratification of a revised Colorado River Compact whereby Utah was guaranteed its fair share of water, which in turn paved the way for the future development of this important water resource.

This latter effort led to Dern's recognition as a major regional leader in the American West.

Meanwhile, he had been overwhelmingly reelected to a second term in 1928 over his hapless Republican opponent, Utah-Idaho Sugar Company executive William H. Wattis, 102,958 votes to 72,306.

In 1929-30 Dern achieved national recognition when fellow governors elected him chairman of the National Governor's Conference. Although he faced new trials and difficulties with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929 and opted not to run for a third term in 1932, he was successful in promoting the nomination and election of Henry H. Blood-his choice to succeed him.

Dern gave early and strong backing to the 1932 presidential campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt, then governor of New York. In turn, he was briefly mentioned as a possibility for Roosevelt's vicepresidential running mate but was passed over in favor of John Nance Garner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Following Roosevelt's victory in November, Dern was widely mentioned as the logical choice for secretary of the interior-a position in which he was clearly interested. Again, he was passed over, this time in favor of Harold Ickes. Ultimately, Dern was appointed secretary of war, despite his complete lack of military experience. Thus he became the first

Henry Hooper Blood Helping Utah recover from the Great Depression was his main iob.

Henry Hooper Blood served two terms as governor, 1933-41, assuming oflice at the lowest point of the Great Depression. His chief challenge was to alleviate severe economic hardship and stimulate the state's economy. He attempted to do this by reducing state expenditures and increasing the amount of aid coming to Utah from the federal government. A Democrat, he was able to work closely with President Roosevelt's Democratic administration to obtain considerable federal assistance for Utah, primarily in the form of public works projects.

Henry Blood was born on October 1, 1872, in Kaysville, Utah, to William and Jane Wilkie Hooper Blood. He had nine brothers and sisters in his immediate family and eleven brothers and sisters by his polygamist father's second wife.

Educated in the public schools of Kaysville, he then attended Brigham Youilg University in Provo.

In 1896 he married Minnie A. Barnes who was literally the "girl next door." She was born on the same night and on the same block that he was, and they grew up together. They became the parents of four children-Russell Hooper, Alan Barnes, Hazel Elaine, and Evalyne-born between 1900 and 1912. Henry was an active member of the LDS church, serving as a missionary to England, 19013, then later as bishop of the Kaysville Ward and president of the North Davis Stake.

Henry's first job was working for his father-inlaw as clerk for the Kaysville Cooperative. He .taught school for a year (1904) at Brigham Young Academy in Logan, returning to Kaysville in 1905 to take the position of manager, secretary, and treasurer of the Kaysville Milling Company. He continued to expand his business interests over the next decade and a half, serving as director or president of three banks, two livestock companies, a sugar company, and a land company, in addition to organizing the Utah-Idaho Millers and Grain Dealers Association in 1911.

Blood's public career started in 1893 with his election as city recorder of Kaysville. He subsequently served as Davis County treasurer (18961900), minute clerk of the Utah State Senate (1901), member of the Davis County School Board (1909-18), and member of the Public Utilities Commission (19 17- 22). In 1922 he was appointed to the State Highway Commission and in 1925 was selected as chairman. His accomplishments in Utah and nationally led to his election in 1930 as

Henry H. Blood

president of the American Association of State Highway Officials. Blood remained chairman of the State Highway Commission until his election as governor in 1932. This position, which gave him broad administrative experience and introduced him to local officials in every corner of the state, was instrumental in his successful bid for the governorship.

Blood was' a reluctant candidate for governor.

Only upon the urging of fellow Democrats did he join the race just three weeks before the State Democratic Convention. He overtook Salt Lake City mayor Clarence Neslen to secure the Democratic nomination and then defeated Republican William W. Seegmiller in the general election, 116,031 votes to 85,9 13. Democrats both in Utah and throughout the country were swept into office that year on the coattails of Franklin Roosevelt, Road construction in Carbon County, 7 938.

High way building helped many unemployed workers during the depression.

who offered new hope for solving the country's economic woes.

Upon assuming office in January 1933, Governor Blood faced perhaps the most challenging economic situation the state has ever encountered.

The unemployment rate was 36 percent, fourth highest in the entire country, and over 33,000 Utah families were receiving some form of government assistance. Blood's approach to solving these problems was to drastically cut state expenditures, adopting a pay-as-you-go policy, and to obtain additional federal relief through various New Deal programs. Though he lacked skill as a public speaker, he was successful in persuading the Legislature and state officials to curtail services and reduce expenditures to meet state income.

During his administration he reduced the state debt from $12,000,000 to $3,655,000. He also advocated passage of a 2 percent sales tax designed to generate funds for welfare. This tax demonstrated a strong commitment by the state to provide relief, which proved useful when Blood approached the federal government for additional assistance.

Blood proved effective at working with federal administrators to obtain work relief programs for Utah. He was instrumental in garnering funds for many Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects, such as the construction of roads, schools, and city buildings. He also obtained funds for water conservation and range development projects, boosting the agricultural and livestock industries.

He pushed especially hard for the construction of dams, which would provide jobs in the short run and greatly improved water capacity for agriculture and future development in the long run.

Dams constructed in Utah during his tenure include Moon Lake in Duchesne County, Pine View in Ogden Canyon, Hyrum in Cache County, and Deer Creek in Provo Canyon.

Blood addressed other important issues besides the economy during his tenure. In 1933, despite his personal opposition to alcohol consumption, he supported the majority as Utah became the final state necessary for ratifying the 2 1st Amendment repealing Prohibition. He did, however, oppose liquor by the drink. Blood successfully handled a conflict in Utah's coal fields between the United Mine Workers of America and the National Miners Union, thereby averting a long strike that would have crippled the industry. He promoted a tax credit for property owners who provided free housing to destitute families, and he oversaw the establishment of the Department of Public Welfare and the Division of Old Age Assistance, which allowed the state to take full advantage of the new

Herbert Brown Maw He directed state affairs during the World War II era.

Herbert Brown Maw was born on March 11, 1893, in Ogden, Utah, to Emma Brown and Ephraim Goodman Maw. He had two brothers, Raymond and Byron, and a sister, Edith. When hard times forced their father to give up his grocery business, the family moved to Salt Lake City.

At age 11 the future governor overcame his parents' objections and sold newspapers on the

Florence and Herbert M a w cast their ballots.

School. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and the debate team, acted in plays directed by the legendary Maud May Babcock, and served as senior class president.

At age 23 Maw opened a law office and signed a teaching contract at LDS High School. When the U.S. entered World War I he enlisted and began training as an aviation cadet. He abandoned his dream of becoming a pilot when LDS church leaders called him to serve as one of three Mormon chaplains in the military.

After his marriage on June 22, 1921, to Florence Buehler of Manti, Utah, Maw pursued his interest in speech at the U. and then went on to Northwestern University where he received a M.A. in 1926 and a J.D. in 1927. He taught speech and political science at the University of Utah and served as dean of men from 1928 to 1936. He and his wife became the parents of four children: Herbert Warren, Florence LaRue, Emma Jeanne, and Ralph Buehler .

In 1928 Maw was elected to the State Senate and served for 10 years, the last four as Senate president. He worked for direct primary elections, old age assistance for needy citizens over 65, and tighter control of public utilities.

While serving as a state senator he made several attempts at higher political office. In 1932 he was unsuccessful in a bid for the Democratic nomination in the Second Congressional District. Two years later he was one of three liberal Democrats

who tried to take the U.S. Senate nomination away from incumbent William H. King, a conservative anti-New Deal Democrat. In 1936 Maw challenged the nomination of Henry H. Blood for governor in a convention fight between the Democratic party's liberal and conservative wings.

Defeated 447 to 353 at the convention, Maw supported Blood instead of running as an independent in return for the governor's assurance that he would sign a direct primary bill if the Legislature passed one.

When the first direct primary was held in 1940 Maw defeated conservative Democrat Henry D. Moyle and secured the party's nomination for governor. He went on to win the election with 128,519 votes to Republican Don B. Colton's 117,713.

One of Maw's first priorities as governor was the reorganization of the executive branch, a subject that made up almost the entire content of his message to the Legislature in 1941 Numerous commissions, boards, and bureaus were replaced by a handful of departments, with a department head directly responsible to the governor. These administrative reforms generally had bipartisan support, for most legislators believed the new system would prove more efficient, economical, and responsive. One new department-Publicity and Industrial Development-was a special project of the governor to promote tourism and new businesses for the state. PID built access roads to scenic attractions like Arches National Monument and to location sites in southern Utah for moviemakers. It also built the natural history museum in Vernal, Utah.

O n March 29, 7 94 7, Governor M a w received a copy of Utah: A Guide to the State from Ruby S. Garrett and Gail Martin who supervised this WPA project.

As the nation shifted its focus from domestic problems to war production, Maw worked with Utah's congressional delegation and other leaders to attract military installations and related industries to the state. In this they were highly successful. Utah's inland location and access to transportation to the West Coast ports made it ideal for many wartime facilities. The war created thousands of jobs and pumped money into Utah's economy which had been in a slump for most of two decades.

In another war-related matter, Maw seems to have been ambivalent on the issue of JapaneseAmericans. He opposed resettlement of voluntary West Coast evacuees on the Wasatch Front, but he vetoed legislation in March 1943 that would have prohibited some Topaz residents from acquiring land in Utah or leaving the internment camp in Millard County. He approved a bill that specifically prohibited Japanese aliens from owning or leasing land on a long-term basis; it was repealed in 1947. In his autobiography, written more than 30 years after the war, Maw called the relocation of U.S. citizens "one of the blackest blotches on the pages of [American] history. " In 1944 Maw faced a difficult race for reelection against Republican J. Bracken Lee, the colorful mayor of Price. Maw supporters created a controversial pamphlet called Morals and the Mayor that purported to expose lax law enforcement policies against liquor and gambling in Price under Mayor Lee. Maw ran behind the rest of the Democratic ticket but squeaked out a slim victory over Lee, 123,907 votes to 122,851. Lee contested the count, but an official canvass showed Maw to be the winner.

The nation's transition from war to peace during Maw's second term dictated its own set of priorities, such as helping veterans to return to civilian life, and a renewed emphasis on educational financing, water projects, and highways.

I-R: Bess Truman, Governor Maw, Harry S Truman and George Albert Smith.

Pioneer Centennial Parade, 1947. L-R: Governor Maw, Salt Lake City Mayor Earl J. Glade, and University of Utah President A. Ray Olpin.

Road building during 1943-46 had been determined by strategic importance to the war effort, with more than 1,000 miles of roads in Utah built or upgraded at a cost of $21.6 million, and the Federal Highway Act called for another large road-building program during 1946-58. Accordingly, the governor emphasized the importance of highways to the state's continuing development in his 1947 message and outlined a 20-year, $275 million program to bring Utah's highway system up to a minimum standard and make scenic attractions more accessible to tourists.

As Maw's second term drew to a close the state's handling of welfare and liquor became increasingly controversial. The Emergency Relief Act of 1933 had given Utah's governor enormous power over public relief programs and funding that the Legislature did not attempt to check until 1947. Critics accused welfare workers of leading clients to believe that their relief payments would be discontinued under a new administration. A Brigham Young University professor, at the request of the Legislative Council, prepared a detailed report on the entanglement of relief and politics. It recommended the creation of a nonpartisan board to oversee all of the state's welfare programs.

Far more explosive were on-going complaints against the Liquor Commission-including allegations of illegal sales. Then, a fake burglary staged on March 1, 1948, to cover up a deficit in one of the state's liquor stores created a furor. Cyrus V. Lack, who operated the store, and Robert S. Harries, head of the state's liquor enforcement agency, were convicted of embezzlement and bribery. The governor denied any knowledge of their improper activities, and a nine-month grand

Joseph Bracken Lee Colorful and controversial, this governor was known for his candor.

Joseph Bracken Lee was born on January 7, 1899, in Price, Utah, the son of Arthur James and Ida May Leiter Lee. He was the second of six children that included Flora Lee Nicholson, Arthur Lewis, Robert E., Alice Lee Rich, and Ruth Lee Fraser. Their father served as Price town president during 1904-5. In 1906 the family moved to Fruita, Colorado, where the father worked as a real estate speculator and banker and also served a term as mayor. In 1913 the family returned to Price where Lee entered high school and his father became an agent for the Gilsonite Company in the Uinta Basin. Lee's mother, Ida May, a beautiful and resourceful women, was known as one of the best cooks in Carbon County.

Lee's family came from a Mormon background, but he professed no church affiliation. He was active in the Masonic Order, though, obtaining the thirty-second degree. Lee attended Carbon County High School but did not graduate because he chose to enlist in the army in April 1917, two months before graduation, to serve in World War I.

J. Bracken Lee

Discharged on March 2, 1919, as a sergeant, he served in the Army Reserve as a second lieutenant until 1935. He entered the real estate business in 1921 and later established a successful insurance business.

He married Nellie Amelia Pace on September 20, 1920, and they had one child, Helen Virginia L. Nelson. His wife died on January 1, 1926, from Hodgkin's disease. To pay the hospital bills accumulated during her illness, Lee rented out his home and lived in the garage, surviving on only a hamburger and a quart of milk a day. He paid off his bills in two years and vowed never to go On debt again. He married Margaret February 23, 1928, and they had three James Margaret L. and Richard Lewis.

Lee started his political career in 1935 when he was elected mayor of Price. He served six two-year terms from January 1936 through December 1947. His accomplishments as mayor included putting the city hospital in the black, paving streets, and installing a new water system. Lee's tenure as mayor was not without controversy, though, as he was accused of allowing liquor to be served openly and ignoring prostitution and gambling in the city.

In 1940 Lee attempted to gain the Republican nomination for governor but was defeated by on B. Colton. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 1942 and governor in 1944. In 1948, however, his determination paid off and he was

jury investigation vindicated him. ~h~ adverse publicity nevertheless tarnished his political image.

Maw said he felt compelled to seek a third term in 1948 partly at the request of state employees who still worked under the spoils system and were afraid of losing their jobs. He narrowly won a contested primary election over John S. Boyden and once again faced off against J. Bracken Lee. When Lee capitalized on the liquor situation Maw retaliated by sending a letter to about a thousand Mormon leaders asking for their support and hinting that Lee favored a loose approach to law enforcement. This "Dear Brother" letter bacHired, with many Mormons resenting the attempt to inject religious affiliation into the campaign. Maw lost to Lee 123,814 to 151,253.

Maw retired to private law practice and maintained office hours on into his nineties, handling many pro bono cases for the poor. His attempts at public office, including bids for the U.S. Senate in 1952 and 1956, met with defeat in the primaries.

He died on November 17, 1990, at age 97.

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Above: Lee stands next to his wife, Margaret, at January 3, 7 949, inaugural in State Capitol. Right: Governor Lee with Heber Bennion, Utah's secretary of state, an ofice that evolved into lieutenant governor in mid- 7 980s.

elected governor, defeating incumbent Herbert B. Maw, principally because of alleged mismanagement of the state's liquor monopoly. He garnered 151,253 votes to Maw's 123,814. When Lee ran for reelection in 1952, he defeated Salt Lake City mayor Earl J. Glade by 180,516 votes to 147,188.

As governor, Lee almost immediately gained national attention because of his battle against the federal income tax and his ideas on economy and reform in state government. Although Utah had no bonded debt when he took office and indeed had a surplus of some $9 million, Lee nevertheless called for additional reserve funds and deep cuts in many state agency budgets. This insistence on strict economy won widespread approval at the outset of his term. His first message to the Legislature in 1949 made specific recommendations regarding the earmarking of funds, the reorganization of the welfare and highway departments, liquor management, conditions at the state prison, and public education. He established a state motor pool and abolished the state liquor enforcement agency and the Publicity and Industrial Development Department, viewing the latter as a Maw boondoggle. A Tourist and Publicity Council with a more restricted mandate was set up.

Although corporation franchise and motor fuel

taxes were increased, Lee convinced the Legislature to lower individual income taxes. He also influenced the simplification of the state's fiscal structure and maintained Utah's debt-free status.

He vetoed many bills and deleted numerous appropriations in agency budgets during his eight years in office.

Lee continued to be controversial while governor. He appeared to relish confrontations with individuals such as Milton B. Taylor, a member of the Finance Commission who refused to resign at Lee's request, and E. Allen Bateman, state school superintendent, whose salary was raised by the school board despite Lee's strongly worded objections. Over the years these feuds filled many pages in the newspapers and sometimes ended in court.

His biggest battle, though, pitted him against educators.

Lee's often-stated low opinion of teachers and administrators made it difficult for him to deal with school financing. Moreover, his attacks on individuals and on the educational system itself clouded the issues and eventually allied the entire educational establishment against him.

In October 1955 Lee announced that he had deposited part of his anticipated federal income tax assessment in a trust account and would pay it only

upon a court order. He apparently hoped to obtain a court test of the legahty of certain congressional approprlatlons, such as foreign aid, but previous court rullngs precluded that aim. Lee's battle with the Internal Revenue Service continued for many years, and he became a hero to tax rebels throughout the country.

Lee decided to run for a thlrd term in 1956, but by then he had lost the Republican party's support and was forced to run on an Independent ticket. He racked up 94,428 votes, a tribute to his enduring popularity, but that was only good enough for third place against winning Republican George D. Clyde with 127,164 votes and Democrat L. C. Romney's 11 1,297.

In March 1957 Lee was appointed national chairman of For America, a group organized to fight super-internationalism and seek a return to "constitutional government." He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate In 1958, again as an Independent. The following year he purchased the Utah Statesman (a Republican weekly newspaper) to promote his political views and changed ~ t s name to American Statesman.

In 1959 Lee ran for and won the mayorship of Salt Lake City, a nonpart~sanposition. He served three terms-12 years-as mayor, retlring from politics in 1972 at the age of 73.

Controversy followed Lee into the mayor's office. In March 1960 he fired Salt Lake City police chief W. Cleon Skousen, a man wldely admlred for his conservative vlews, professional law enforcement background, and tough stand on vice.

The firlng sent shock waves though the community, and once again Lee was thrust lnto the local and national hmelight as accusations flew back and forth between the two men.

While mayor he waged unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate In 1962, loslng to Wallace F. Bennett in the GOP primary, and for governor in 1964, losing in the Republican convention to Mitchell Melich and D, James Cannon.

Lee was w~thoutdoubt the most colorru~ana controversial governor that Utah has had. It remalns arguable that his rigid economic measures saved tax dollars in the long run, as many building projects deferred durlng h ~ sadministration required a greater outlay of state money later. Still, many endorsed h ~ goal s and admired him for expresslng his views in a forthright manner. His ideas and philosophy of government attracted a large and loyal following, brought him national attention, and won for him a total of thirty-two year< In elective office. -LT

forecasting methods. In 1936 Clyde was appointed dean of USAC's College of Engineering and Technology, serving in that capaclty until 1945.

During this same period he was a research professor at the Utah Experiment Statlon. He wrote extensively, publishing nearly fifty major articles in various engineering journals.

Clyde committed himself to public service while living in Logan. In 1934 at the height of Utah's worst drought, Gov. Henry H. Blood appointed Clyde the state water conservator. Later, he was appointed to the advisory board of the Utah Department of Industrial Development, Water Resources Division. He was elected director and later vice-president of the Utah Water Users Association. In these positions Clyde became an expert on the needs of farmers and urban dwellers when it came to developing and managing Utah's scarce water. This knowledge and experience served him well in his later professional and public careers.

Clyde left academics in 1945 when he was appointed chief of the Division of Irrigation Engineering and Water Conservation and Research for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. For the next eight years he worked with farmers, governors, and other government officials in water and soil conservation efforts in the 17 western states and with the Bureau of Reclamation as it developed some of its most important reclamation projects in the West. He traveled throughout Central and South America where he was introduced to new and different problems in the field of water resource management and development.

In 1953 the state of Utah hired Clyde as director of the Utah Water and Power Board to develop and manage the state's water resources. During his three-year tenure he represented Utah in its negotiations with other states in the Upper Colorado River Storage Project, which included the vital Central Utah Project. Clyde was also chief spokesman and negotiator for other interstate water compacts, including the Green, Virgin, Bear, and Raft river compacts.

In 1956 Clyde entered the gubernatorial race and defeated two-term Republican Gov. J. Bracken Clyde breaks ground in North Salt Lake with a bulldozer for a freeway in January 7 958.

Lee in the party's convention. Miffed with the leadership of the Republican party, Lee, former mayor of Price and a very popular governor among some of the state's electorate, ran as an Independent. With 127,164 votes, Clyde outpolled Lee, 94,428, and the Democrat- L. C. Romney, 111,297, in the November general election.

During this campaign, some called for Clyde's resignation from the Utah Water and Power Board. They claimed that as director he had a decided advantage over the other candidates.

Chairman Charles Redd did ask Clyde to take a leave of absence but refused to ask for his resignation, believing that if he lost the election he should remain as the state's most knowledgeable person directing water developments in the state.

Important planks in Clyde's political platform included strict economy in government and a strong advocacy of states' rights against the expanding federal government. "We must guard against central government becoming too big, and thereby becoming the master rather than the servant of the people," he declared at a Lincoln Day dinner in Tooele.

A fiscal conservative, Clyde favored an equitable state tax system and advocated strong economic development utilizing the state's natural resources, especially water. He used the important government contacts he had developed in Washington through his earlier work to push for federal funding of the Upper Colorado River Storage Project as well as other interstate stream reclamation projects in the West. He also supported the new interstate highway system.

Clyde believed in a strong educational system but, adhering to a very conservative fiscal position, he argued that facilities should be built on a "pay as you go" basis. He was not willing to bond the state for the critical building needs of higher education. Shortly after taking office he clashed with some higher education officials over his proposed budget for constructing much-needed college buildings and his refusal to raise taxes to provide higher salaries for public school teachers.

Burgeoning enrollments in the state's colleges during the postwar era, coupled with the refusal of previous state leaders to provide funds for building construction, had created a crisis. Even some Republican party leaders opposed Clyde's position on these issues; yet, he remained firm in his resolve to not bond for building construction and to not raise taxes unnecessarily. He advocated greater use of junior colleges in the state to ease enrollment problems at four-year institutions. He also pointed out that other, equally critical needs of the state, such as highways, had been ignored too long.

Several Republicans opted to contest Clyde's renomination at the GOP State Convention in 1960. He and Lamont B. Gunderson were selected to face a primary runoff in September, which Clyde won by some 13,000 votes. In the general election he defeated Democrat William A. Barlocker, the mayor of St. George, 195,634 votes to 175,855.

U.S. Sen. Arthur V. Watkins and Governor Clyde near Dead Horse Point. Clyde objected to the proposed size of Canyonlands National Park immediately south of viewpoint.

In his 1961 inaugural address Clyde pointed to his first- term achievements, which included gains in state aid to education and increases in teacher's salaries averaging about $1,000 a year, highway construction increases of 500 percent, $25 million in state building construction, improved state personnel practices and wages, and improved or new programs in public welfare, state parks, and libraries. He said that during the next four years health and welfare programs would have to be increased, reclamation projects completed, and more building needs met, including upgraded facilities for juvenile offenders.

Despite increased spending for education, Clyde's proposals again fell far short of educators' expectations in 1963. He appointed a committee to study state school needs but rejected its report in May 1964. Teachers staged a two-day classroom walkout, and the National Education Association, for the first time in its history, voted sanctions against an entire state. Clyde finally approved a large state building bill-much of it earmarked for education-passed at a special session of the Legislature. It did not require bonding.

Beginning in 1958 Congress, with the support of Utah Sen. Frank E. Moss, had proposed creating a

new national park in southeastern Utah. Clyde opposed the park-especially its projected size-arguing that it would lock up vast areas of undeveloped natural resources. Clyde and Moss fought bitterly over the proposal. In the end both sides won: In 1964 Clyde accepted a Canyonlands National Park reduced in size, and Moss and Congress succeeded in establishing a new national park.

Clyde's accomplishments during his eight years as governor were numerous. He sat at the controls of a large bulldozer on two different occasions, breaking ground for the construction of the multimillion dollar interstate highway system in the state and for the building of the University of Utah's medical school. Defending minority rights, he vetoed a controversial Sunday closing bill, arguing that not all religions recognize Sunday as the Sabbath. He succeeded in changing the management of numerous state agencies and departments and established a merit system for state employees, removing politics as a qualification for state employment. He also supported health insurance and retirement for state, county, and city workers.

Perhaps his major accomplishments were his unfailing support for the Central Utah Project and for the construction of the interstate highway system and his efforts to professionalize state government.

Clyde chose not to run for a third term but returned to private life, joining his son Ned's worldwide engineering firm, Woodward and Clyde, as an engineering consultant. He remained in Salt Lake City working for the company until his death on April 2, 1972, at the age of 73. -CF Clyde greets young family members on his return from a trip to Russia in 7 959. H e was one of Utah's most widely traveled governors.

Calvin 1. Rampton

Calvin Lewellyn Rampton The Democrats began a long reign with this three-term governor.

Like Governors Mabey and Blood, Calvin Lewellyn Rampton was a product of Davis County.

Born in Bountiful on November 6, 1913, to Janet Campbell and Lewellyn Smith Rampton, he was their first child. Another son, Byron Ray, and a daughter, Virginia, completed the family. Cal, as he preferred to be called, attended LDS church meetings and social activities, enjoyed hunting and fishing with his father, and worked part time as a mechanic in his father's automobile dealership.

Cal's interest in politics may have begun as early as the election of Charles R. Mabey as governor in 1920. Mabey's wife was a cousin of Lewellyn Rampton, but young Cal referred to these cousins as "Aunt" Afton and "Uncle" Charley. The Mabeys' sons, Charles and Robert, were his close friends.

In 1931 Rampton graduated from Davis High School where he was a member of the school's state championship debate team and also played tennis. His plans to attend the University of Utah were delayed because of his father's death, and he

worked in the automobile dealership until the business was sold in 1933. Then, after two years at the U., he went to Washington, D.C., as an administrative assistant to Utah Congressman J. W. Robinson during 1936-38 and attended George Washington University. He was elected chair of the Administrative Assistants Association, succeeding Lyndon B . Johnson. Rampton completed his L.L.B. degree at the U. in 1939.

While in Washington Rampton met Lucy Elizabeth (Lucybeth) Cardon. They were married on March 10, 1940, and became the parents of Margaret, Janet, Anthony, and Vincent.

In 1932 Rampton had joined a field artillery unit of the Utah National Guard. He went on active duty in 1942 as a lieutenant and served in France, Holland, and Germany, receiving a Bronze Star and other commendations. By the war's end he was chief of the Senior U.S. Army Claims Commission in Paris. He retired in 1964 as a reserve colonel in the Army Field Judiciary Service.

Rampton's early professional experience came as Davis County attorney during 1939-40 and as an assistant attorney general for Utah in 1941-42 and again in 1946-48. In 1946 he was admitted to practice before the U. S. - Supreme Court. Two years later he resigned his state position to devote full time to his law partnership with Harry D. Pugsley and Zar E. Hayes. Considered an expert in transportation and tax law, he argued many cases before the Interstate Commerce Commission and other federal regulatory agencies.

A life-long Democrat and a member of the party's conservative wing, Rampton was president of the Young Democrats of Utah in 1940, chair of the Western States Conference of Young Democrats in 1941, and a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1952, 1956, and 1960. He ran unsuccessfully for the Utah State Senate in 1954 and for his party's nomination to run for the U.S. Senate in 1962. Discouraged by these losses, he nevertheless agreed to run for governor in 1964.

He defeated Ernest H. Dean in the August 11 primary race and faced Republican Mitchell Melich in November. The contest for governor focused tightly on the educational crisis that clouded Governor Clyde's last months in office and on an economy that appeared stagnant. Teachers had formed a political action committee early in the year to develop candidates in both parties who would support their goals. Both Rampton and Melich secured teacher approval. Rampton garnered some 57 percent of the vote, defeating Melich 227,15 1 to 171,395, and the Democrats won all five state elective offices and control of both houses of the Legislature. One Republican

face very familiar to the new governor was that of his brother Byron who was elected to the State Senate from Davis County.

Addressing the 36th Legislature in January 1965, Rampton called for increased spending for education, passage of three civil rights bills, congressional redistricting and legislative reapportionment, funds for industrial development and tourism, an independent juvenile court system, a public defender system, and legislation to enable Utah to use federal funds for urban renewal and health facilities. A $67 million bond issue was the centerpiece of his state building program. The Legislature responded favorably to a majority of his requests, many of which had been under consideration for years, but refused to pass the fair housing portion of the civil rights package.

As a member of the Four Corners Commission (representing Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona), Rampton accepted federal aid for the area because family income was below the national median, but he later decried growing federal control over state functions, including education and the courts.

The 1967 Legislature produced a $1 17 million program for higher education, more than Rampton had requested, and cut his budget for the Travel Council and antidiscrimination enforcement. The passage of many important bills was overshadowed by a controversial Sunday closing proposal that Rampton vetoed.

The Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government (Little Hoover Commission), established at Rampton's request in 1965, made its report the following year. In 1967 the Legislature acted upon its recommendations, grouping more than 20 autonomous departments,

Rampton at dedication of Colorado River Bridge, Glen Canyon.

Governor Rampton with Utah Congressman David

S. King and Robert F. Kennedy who was on a river trip in Utah, 7 965.

boards, and agencies into three major departments; however, the administrative structure legislators imposed proved so unwieldy that after an 18-month trial Rampton called for numerous reforms.

In 1968 Rampton briefly considered running against U.S. Sen. Wallace F. Bennett but opted instead to seek reelection as governor. He easily won renomination and defeated Carl W. Buehner, an industrialist and retired General Authority of the LDS church, 289,283 votes to 131,729. A constitutional amendment approved by voters provided for annual sessions of the Legislature, with those in even-numbered years limited to 20 days and devoted primarily to budgetary matters.

Law enforcement needs and social problems became the focus of Rampton's legislative agenda in 1969 with the governor calling for an updating of the criminal code, minimum standards for jails, and help for the heavy caseload in the Third Judicial District. The governor vetoed a bill designed to control growing campus demonstrations against the Vietnam War. A year later, following the tragic killing of four Kent State University student protestors by Ohio National Guard troops, students at the University of Utah conducted a series of rallies and sit-ins. Rampton agreed to meet with student representatives to respond to their concerns about free speech and to outline his position on the use of the National Guard.

The up and down economy of the 1970s presented many challenges to Rampton and state legislators because Utah law requires a balanced budget. Inflation, high unemployment, increased welfare spending, and the needs of higher education, the prison, and state employees were some of the difficult issues they faced. Using his skill as a negotiator, the governor was often able to achieve his legislative goals by working with rather

than aga~nstfrequent Republican majorities in the Legislature.

Although hls family apparently wanted him to return to private life, Rampton decided instead to run for a thud term in 1972. As governor he had retained the support of his own party and was popular w ~ t hmany Republicans and Independents.

Republicans w~llingto challenge him were hard to find. Nicholas L. Strike, a Salt Lake City businessman, won the,GOP nomination. Rampton and Strike faced each other in more than 20 debates, but the third-term issue was about the only matter of consequence raised against the governor. The election featured a lot of split-ticket votlng, and Rampton easily defeated Strike, 331,998 votes to 144,449.

The need to coordinate state environmental, oc cupat~onalsafety, and health policies with new federal requirements led Rampton to devote about a fourth of his message to the 1973 Legislature to these top~cs.He recommended ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

That proposal was defeated, but a number of other measures extending women's rights became law.

Tax reform, state building projects-including Symphony Hall, the Salt Lake Art Center, and schools-and extenslve revls~onof the penal code were among Rampton's concerns during the final years of his administration.

Rampton delayed the announcement that he would not seek election to a fourth term as governor unt~l March 1976. Since most observers thought he could easily win reelection, the delaying tactlc gave Republicans less time to agree on a candtdate and gave the governor time to help conv~ncehis successor, Scott M. Matheson, to run.

Rampton left office on a wave of good feeling. A banquet honoring the governor and his wtfe in November 1976 drew more than 1,000 people to the Hotel Utah. Upon h ~ sretirement from public office, Rampton joined the law firm of Jones, Waldo, Holbrook, and McDonough. --MUM Rampton and Sfate Sen. Omar Bunnell o f Price a f Scofield Reservoir.

Scott M. Matheson

Scott Milne Matheson Federal-state issues loomed large during his two terms.

Born in chicago, Illinois, on January 8, 1929, Scott Milne Matheson was a son of Adele Adams, a former schoolteacher, and Scott Milne Matheson, Sr., a law student, both of whom came from active Mormon backgrounds in Parowan, Utah. Their other children were Bonnie, Alan Adams, and Stephen David. The Mathesons returned to Utah in the early 1930s.

Young Scott graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City but maintained his rural ties by spending summers in Parowan performing farm and ranch chores for relatives. After receiving a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah in 1950, he enrolled in the Stanford University Law School and attained his J.D. degree in 1952. Accompanying him to Stanford was the former Norma Louise Warenski whom he had known since high school and had married on August 25, 1951. They became the parents of four children: Scott Milne, Mary Lee, James, and Thomas.

Admitted to the Utah State Bar in 1953, Matheson began practicing law in Cedar City and teaching part-time at the college as his father had done. He also served as Iron County deputy attorney and Parowan city attorney. Returning to Salt Lake City two years later, Matheson began a law partnership with William G. Fowler and

Below: Utah State Prison near the time of Gilmore's execution. Both photographs courtesy of Richard Prehn. All of Utah's governors have had to deal with crime and prison problems. Clyde, for example, stayed overnight at the prison during a riot in February 7 957.

served briefly as a law clerk for U.S. district court judge Willis Ritter and as a deputy county attorney.

From 1958 to 1976 he was employed successively in the legal departments of the Union Pacific Railroad and Anaconda Copper Corporation.

Active in the Democratic party since his college days, Matheson decided to run for governor in 1976 after Calvin Rampton announced he would not seek a fourth term. He was the top vote-getter at the June 19 party convention and defeated John Preston Creer by some 15,000 votes in the September primary. In the general election he came from behind in the polls to defeat his Republican opponent, Utah attorney general Vernon B. Romney, 280,706 votes to 248,270. The 1976 election demonstrated the penchant of Utahns for split-ticket voting with the state's electoral votes going to Gerald Ford and the GOP winning most of the top offices except governor, state treasurer, and one congressional seat.

At Matheson's request his inauguration on January 4, 1977, took place without such traditional military trappings as a cannon salute. His address emphasized the need to use Utah's abundant resources wisely to avoid damaging the environment and shortchanging future generations.

He assumed office in the highly charged atmosphere surrounding the Gary Gilmore case.

Worldwide attention was focused on the convicted killer who wanted to die as scheduled on January 17 despite intense efforts to stop the execution by

those opposed to capital punishment. Matheson's study of state statutes convinced him that all options available to a governor had already been exhausted. He believed there should be an automatic appeal of death penalty cases to the Utah Supreme Court and recommended a change in the Criminal Code to that effect. It was enacted in 1977.

A high rate of inflation and strained relations with the federal government presented Matheson with difficult challenges and choices during his first term. Although Utah was in better financial shape than most states during the 1970s, drought, population growth, spiraling Medicaid costs, fastgrowing enrollments in public schools and state colleges, cost-of-living increases for state employees, and state facilities and maintenance all required large outlays. He foresaw the role computer technology would play in increasing efficiency and productivity and began requesting funds for the state to own and manage its own dataprocessing system. He secured passage of many high priority programs, including drought relief assistance and bonding for water projects, bonding for various state building needs, and tax relief.

Later, when revenues fell short of projections, Matheson was quick to trim the state payroll and require across-the-board cuts in agency budgets.

In January 1979 the governor faced another nationally publicized legal case when polygamist John Singer was shot and killed in Summit County

Flood waters made State Street a river in spring 1983. Note temporary pedestrian bridge at South Temple.

Photograph by Margie Johnson.

while brandishing a gun at the state and local law enforcement team attempting to arrest him. Singer had refused to cooperate with school authorities in educating his children at home and had ignored a juvenile court order awarding custody of his second wife's children to their father. Matheson, involved in planning the arrest attempt, was well aware of the possible civil rights aspect of the case but believed Singer's continued defiance of the court order, not his religious belief, was the real issue-a view upheld in later court decisions.

Matheson became a major spokesman nationally for state and local officials frustrated in their dealings with the federal government. He wrote a detailed account of these experiences in Out of Balance (1986). Two significant disagreements with federal officials involved the location of the MX missile system and the transfer of Weteye nerve gas bombs from Colorado to Utah. The controversy surrounding the proposed racetrack basing mode for MX missiles in Utah's west desert occupied a full year of Matheson's time in office, he later noted. His persistent demand for answers to the many questions surrounding MX deployment and the Weteye transfer rallied public opinion against the two projects. MX basing in Utah was rejected and, although nerve gas bombs were transferred to Army facilities in Tooele, the military devised much tighter security and safety

precautions than had originally been planned.

Funding for the Central Utah Project and federalstate land exchanges also found the governor at odds with federal bureaucrats.

In March 1980 Matheson announced that he would run for reelection. He faced W. Robert Wright, an attorney in Salt Lake City and a former GOP state chairman, whom he easily defeated, 328,000 votes to 264,000, despite a Republican sweep of most other offices.

Faced with a stagnant economy and a population increase of 37.5 percent since 1970, Matheson and the Legislature frequently disagreed on solutions.

During his second term the governor vetoed numerous bills and the Legislature voted to override many of them. Matheson did win a court case he instituted against a bill that required the governor to fill judicial vacancies from a list supplied by the political party of the vacating judge. The Legislature trimmed many of his budget requests, but Matheson secured approval for an additional judge for the overcrowded Third District Court and achieved increased funding for education, health, and highway construction and repair.

The governor suffered a mild heart attack in April 1983, was hospitalized for a week, and spent several weeks resting at home.

Having taken office in the middle of a drought crisis, Matheson faced the opposite extreme when

two years of record-breaking precipitation created widespread flooding in the spring of 1983. Devastating mudslides, the collapse of an earthen dam, and the highest recorded elevation of the Great Salt Lake exacerbated the problem, and by June, 13 counties had been declared disaster areas.

Environmental issues occupied much of Matheson's final year in office. He opposed proposed nuclear waste dump sites in southeastern Utah, calling them inherently unsuitable because of their proximity to Canyonlands, the Colorado River, and numerous archaeological sites. He was also a major participant in several years of intense public debate that culminated in September 1984 when President Ronald Reagan signed the Utah Wilderness bill. Following his death the U.S. Board of Geographic Names approved naming a 3,000-acre region in the Deep Creek Mountains Scott's Basin in honor of Matheson's conservation efforts, which included protection of this prime wildlife region.

Following his retirement from public office Matheson joined the law firm of Parsons, Behle, and Latimer. He remained active in party politics, co-chairing the National Democratic Policy Commission in 1985, but he declined to run for the Senate in 1988 against incumbent Orrin Hatch.

Matheson died October 7, 1990, in Salt Lake City of multiple myeloma. -MBM

Bangerter began hls career as a contractor while ending college, and for the next 25 years he was successful home budder and real estate deloper He served a5 vice-president of B and H al Estate Company, v~ce-pres~dent and Secrey of Dlx~e-SIX Land Development, president of ngerter and Hendrlckson Company, and preslnt of NHB Construct~onCompany. He rece~ved e Dist~nguishcdService Award from the Home ild~ng Industry and was named Outstand~ng nessman by the West Valley Chamber of ~ o k ~ nfor g new challenges, Bangerter entered ~trcsIn 1974, w~nninga seat in the Utah House presentatlves where he would serve through , His leadersh~pskills qu~cklycame to the , and he rose through the ranks as asslstant ajorlty w h ~ pmajorlty , leader, and Speaker of the ouse d u r ~ n g1981-84. He was the first Speaker to rve two consecutive terms in over forty years.

D u r ~ n gh ~ sdecade in the House, Bangerter'~ able manner and ablllty to negotiate won h ~ m nds on both sides of the aisle. He worked hard, ng many hours to legislative matters between ns. As a member of the Executive Appropnans Comm~ttee he was a key figure In the dgetlng process and In final appropr~ationsbills. u r ~ n gthese years Bangerter also served on the Const~tut~on Revision Committee, the goverboard of the Nat~onal Council of State

Governments, the advisory board of Utah Technical College (now Salt Lake Community College), the advisory board of LDS Social Services, and the Job Training Council.

In 1981 the Veterans of Foreign Wars gave him their Outstanding Legislator Award, and in 1983 the national Republican party named him one of the top ten Republican legislators in the nation.

Bangerter was elected governor in 1984, making him the first Republican governor in Utah in 20 years. In this race-he defeated former Democratic Congressman Wayne Owens 351,792 to 275,669.

This was the first election held after the passage of a constitutional amendment that required the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run as a team. State auditor Val Oveson was Bangerter's running mate and remained with his administration for eight years. Bangerter was reelected in 1988 with 260,462 votes in a threeway race with Salt Lake City mayor Ted Wilson, a Democrat, who garnered 249,321 votes, and Independent candidate Merrill Cook, who received 136,651 votes.

Bangerter outlined three priorities (which he called the three E's) for his administration when he took office in 1985: education, economic development, and efficiency in government. In 1990 Bangerter promoted public involvement with the schools and visited an elementary school to demonstrate the potential benefits of volunteering.

Archaeologists and historians surveyed sites in Utah's West Desert in 7 986 prior to the Great Salt Lake pumping project. Significant data on the Donner party were among their findings.

he added a fourth E-environment-to his priority list and asked the Legislature to create the Department of Environmental Quality.

Shortly after Bangerter assumed office in January 1985 several Utah companies closed as a result of a plunging national economy in copper, steel, and oil. He launched an aggressive campaign to rebuild the state's economy and took drastic steps to reduce the size and cost of government. In addition, the state was still in the throes of a wet cycle that required the governor to make a tough decision to go ahead with a costly project to pump water from the Great Salt Lake into the west desert. A fast-growing student population stretched educational resources to the limit, a crisis situation at the deteriorating and overcrowded state prison demanded attention, and looming on the horizon was the failure of several thrift and loan companies. Indeed, probably only Henry H. Blood faced a more difficult and challenging economic situation than Bangerter upon assuming the governor's office.

New initiatives Bangerter developed to build a strong Utah economy included Centers of Excellence to help commercialize university research, a Federal Procurement Office to help Utah's small businesses compete for federal contracts, and promotional efforts to attract additional American and foreign tourists. His business recruitment efforts resulted in several new industries locating in Utah.

Bangerter's success in gaining increased spending to promote economic development and tourism in the state produced results. During his second term the state bucked all national recessional trends. One of the positive by-products of the state's impressive growth was that national pub-

lications began to pay greater attention to Utah. In 1991 Financial World magazine ranked Utah the top financially managed state in the country: "Utah is run like a well-managed business.. .fiscal controls are taken seriously. ' ' Time, U.S. News & World Report, and the Economist magazines as well as the New York Times and Boston Globe newspapers have featured positive articles discussing Utah's economic vitality, efficient worlctbrce, low cost-of-living, and high quality of life. In addition, an article in Fortune magazine in October 1990 ranked Salt Lake City as the number one city in the country in which to do business.

Additional accomplishments of the Bangerter years include establishment of a Court of Appeals to relieve the Utah State Supreme Court's heavy burden, new facilities at the state prison, and a variety of other buildings, such as a long-requested performing arts building at the University of Utah and a museum in Sevier County to display Fremont Indian artifacts unearthed at a major site in Clear Creek Canyon.

When Bangerter presented his final State of the State address in January 1992 he chose to highlight his administration's achievements in education, citing increased funding for Utah's schools and rising test scores among elementary school children.

He also noted that personal income had grown by 58 percent and that 167,400 new jobs had been created during his years in office. Although hefty tax increases imposed in 1987 brought him much criticism and gave him a difficult reelection campaign in 1988, he pointed to a decrease in sales and personal income tax burdens from 7.8 percent in 1985 to 7.6 percent in 1992.

Like all governors, Bangerter was in constant demand as a speaker.

Expanding his area of service beyond state borders, Bangerter was vice-chairman of the Western Governors' Association in 1985 and chairman in 1986. He was a member of the National Governors' Association's Committee on Human- Resources and vice-chairman of the Committee on Energy and Environment. He also chaired the Interstate Oil Compact Commission.

In December 1990 Bangerter announced that he would not seek reelection for a third term. He cited a desire to spend more time with his family and to return to the private sector. Never one to fret unduly about image, he told reporters, "We faced the problems as they came, head on, and we proposed the best solution we knew-regardless of political consequences." He went on to say, "I want to go down in history as the Governor who didn't spend eight years worrying about how he would go down in history. " -DGB Formerly South High School, this building now houses part of Salt Lake Community College.

Bangerter served on the board of its predecessor, Utah Technical College.

i

Michael Okerlund Leavitt Achievements in business, education, and politics led him to victory in 1992.

Utah's fourteenth governor, Michael Okerlund Leavitt, was born February 11, 1951, in Cedar City, the oldest child of Anne and Dixie Leavitt.

He has five brothers. At the family ranch in Loa, Wayne County, Leavitt developed a strong work ethic and a sense of responsibility that enabled him to achieve many goals.

He graduated from Cedar City High School and received a bachelor's degree in business and economics from Southern Utah State College (now Southern Utah University.) There he met Jacalyn Smith of Newton, Cache County, who was participating in the Utah Shakespearean Festival. A year later they married; they are the parents of five children: Mike, Taylor, Anne Marie, Chase, and Westin. They have lived in Salt Lake City since the late 1970s.

Leavitt's business career began one summer when as a young man he won a bid to collect refuse at four campgrounds near Cedar City and hired his teenage brothers to work on the project. Later, he joined the organization founded by his father, The Leavitt Group, a regional insurance firm with 34 offices in Utah and the West, eventually becoming president and chief executive officer. The firm's revenues have grown to nearly $100 million annually, placing it in the top 50 such companies in America. His business leadership led to appointments to the boards of directors of Pacificorp, Utah Power & Light Co., and Great Western Thrift and Loan.

Prior to his election Leavitt had distinguished himself in service to education as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents which oversees the A graduate of Southern Utah University, Governor Leavitt also chaired this institution i board of trustees for four years.

Jacalyn and Michael Leavitt and their children.

state's nine colleges and universities and as chair of the Education Subcommittee of the Utah Commission for Efficiency and Economy in Government. He also served on the Strategic Planning Committee for Public Education, working to develop a long-term plan for Utah's public education system. For four years he was chair of SUU's Board of Trustees.

His political career began when he helped his father, a Republican state senator, with his unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1976. Later he worked on Jake Garn's 1980 and 1986 Senate elections and on Orrin Hatch's 1982 and 1988 Senate races. Between these successes he sandwiched in Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign, assuming responsibility for 13 critical northeastern states.

When Governor Bangerter decided not to seek reelection in 1992, Leavitt entered the race. He defeated Richard Eyre in the 'Republican primary and at the general election on November 2 won a three-way race for governor with 320,119 votes to 255,005 for Independent Merrill Cook and 176,659 for Democrat Stewart Hanson. Leavitt's running mate, Olene Walker, will be the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor in Utah.

"Gov. Bangerter leaves this state with a very firm foundation," Leavitt told the Salt Lake Tribune after the election; "but we plan to move it to a whole new level of performance. ''