HISTORICAL IjUARTERLY SUMMER, 1968 • VOLUME 36 ' H U H B M 3
UTAH STORICAL SOCIETY
BOARD OF STATE HISTORY Division of Department of Development Services j . GRANT IVERSON, Salt Lake City, 1971 President MILTON c. ABRAMS, Logan, 1969
Vice-President EVERETT L. COOLEY, Salt Lake City Secretary DEAN R. BRIMHALL, Fruita, 1969 MRS. JUANITA BROOKS, St. George, 1969
JACK GOODMAN, Salt Lake City, 1969 MRS. A. c. J E N S E N , Sandy, 1971 THERON LUKE, Provo, 1971
CLYDE L. MILLER, Secretary of State
Ex officio HOWARD c. PRICE, J R . , Price, 1971 MRS. ELIZABETH SKANCHY, Midvale, 1969
MRS. NAOMI WOOLLEY, Salt Lake City, 1971
ADMINISTRATION EVERETT L. COOLEY, Director
T. H. JACOBSEN, State Archivist, Archives F. T. J O H N S O N , Records Manager, Archives
J O H N JAMES, JR., Librarian MARGERY W. WARD, Associate Editor
IRIS SCOTT, Business Manager
The Utah State Historical Society is an organization devoted to the collection, preservation, and publication of Utah and related history. I t was organized by publicspirited Utahns in 1897 for this purpose. In fulfillment of its objectives, the Society publishes the Utah Historical Quarterly, which is distributed to its members with payment of a $5.00 annual membership fee. The Society also maintains a specialized research library of books, pamphlets, photographs, periodicals, microfilms, newspapers, maps, and manuscripts. Many of these items have come to the library as gifts. Donations are encouraged, for only through such means can the Utah State Historical Society live up to its responsibility of preserving the record of Utah's past.
The primary purpose of the Quarterly is the publication of manuscripts, photographs, and documents which relate or give a new interpretation to Utah's unique story. Contributions of writers are solicited for the consideration of the editor. However, the editor assumes no responsibility for the return of manuscripts unaccompanied by return postage. Manuscripts and material for publications should be sent to the editor. The Utah State Historical Society does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinions expressed by contributors. The Utah Historical Quarterly is entered as second-class postage, paid at Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 1968, Utah State Historical Society, 603 East South Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102.
SUMMER,
1968
• VOLUME 36 • NUMBER 3
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Contents IN M E M O R I A M :
L E L A N D H. C R E E R
BY PHILIP C. STURGES
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SALTAIR, G R E A T SALT LAKE'S MOST FAMOUS RESORT BY J O H N D. C. GADD
195
198
T H E U T A H LEGISLATURE AND T H E INCOME TAX AMENDMENT BY STEWART L. GROW
222
A F R I E N D L Y H O U S E BY A N H I S T O R I C R O A D : THE HAMPTON-BIGLER HOME BY ARNOLD R. STANDING
233
T H E U T A H A C A D E M Y O F SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS BY WILLIAM H . BEHLE
239
_
T H E F A I L U R E O F T H E H A T C H T O W N D A M , 1914 BY WILLIAM M. TIMMINS ._
263
REVIEWS AND PUBLICATIONS
274
The Cover Picture postcard scenes depicted on the cover lured local residents and tourists to enjoy salt water bathing and amusements offered at "world famous'' Saltair. EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR
EVERETT L. COOLEY Margery W. Ward
H I R S H S O N , STANLEY P., Grenville Dodge: Soldier, Politician, Railroad BY
M. Pioneer,
LEE S C A M E H O R N
274
NUSBAUMER, L O U I S , Valley of Salt, Memories of Wine: A Journal of Death Valley, 1849, BY RAY M. REEDER
M O O D Y , R A L P H , Stagecoach
275
West,
BY ALTON B. OVIATT
276
H A R T , H E R B E R T M., Pioneer Forts of the West, BY DONALD R. MOORMAN
BOOKS REVIEWED
GRESSLEY, G E N E M., The American A Reorientation,
277
West:
BY W . D. AESCHBACHER
C U T L E R , H U G H C , Corn, Cucurbits Cotton from Glen Canyon,
278
and
BY ROBERT C. EULER
S M I T H , D U A N E A., Rocky Mountain Camps: The Urban Frontier,
278
Mining
BY J A M E S B. ALLEN
279
ALBERT, H E R M A N W., Odyssey of a Desert Prospector, BY MILES P . ROMNEY
281
S M I T H , D W I G H T L., ed., The Photographer and the River, 1889-1890: The Colorado canon diary of Franklin A. Nims with the Brown-Stanton railroad survey expedition, BY W . L. R U S H O
282
MOSS, F R A N K E., The Water Crisis, BY J . W H I T N E Y FLOYD
282
SALISBURY, A L B E R T and JANE, Here Rolled the Covered Wagons, BY MERLE W E L L S
283
GATES, PAUL W., ed., California Ranchos and Farms, 1846-1862: Including the Letters of John Quincy Adams Warren of 1861, Being Largely Devoted to Livestock, Wheat Farming, Fruit Raising, and the Wine Industry, BY J O S E P H A. MCGOWAN
284
T
H E DEATH OF Dr. Leland H. Creer, March 25, 1968, removed one more of the pioneers from us, for he pioneered in writing about the Utah pioneers of the days of 1847-69. His work, beginning in 1929 with Utah and the Nation and extending over the years in a long and distinguished list of books and articles, sought to view the founders of Utah with the clear eye of objectivity and careful truth. As a life-long scholar and educator he trained and inspired others to join him in the task. The Utah State Historical Society owes much of its character to his selfless membership and presidency. Yet, Dr. Creer was never an iconoclast. His deep love for the men and women of history, particularly Utah history, was woven into everything he said or wrote about them. Indeed, he never penned a more poetic sentence than the dedication to his The Founding of an Empire: "To the memory of my grandmother, Sarah Jane Bradley Creer, who in 1856 at the age of fifteen pushed a handcart more than a thousand miles across the Plains to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake." Fierce pride in the land and heritage of his birth actuated this son of Utah. Significant as his publications are, no memories of Dr. Creer can fail to include his tremendous enthusiasm, the overflowing vitality and high spirits which stamped his human contacts. It was in the classroom that he lit the spark of a bright burning love of history in so many of his students. There his lectures sparkled with fascinating stories of the past he knew so well, with sharp wit, and good fun. How many students there were who echoed a fellow of mine when he said, "I can't even count the credits, but I've just got to take one more course from Dr. Creer before I graduate." Dr. Creer filled his lecture hall and hence the ranks of academic majors in history at the University of Utah year after year. To all of them he transmitted the article of his faith — Von Ranke's memorable phrase that history must be written wie es eigentlich gewesen ("as it actually happened"). None could escape that fidelity to historical scholarship nor the infection of pure joy in the subject that he spread so lavishly. The classrooms of schools and colleges throughout the nation are sprinkled with instructors who try to imitate the methods and vigorous lecture techniques of their mentor. I, for one, can attest that what seemed so engagingly simple as we sat at his feet now appears elusive and impossible of reproduction, for there was only one Dr. Creer. His teaching power sprang from the whole man.
Leland H. Creer
197
As a colleague, Dr. Creer was warm and helpful. He constantly encouraged the younger members of his staff with opportunities for notice and advancement. He gave his support to those who needed it and his ready approval to all who merited it. Often a timid Freshman would venture into Dr. Creer's office, only to meet a great roar and apparent outburst of disapproving outrage. For a moment the hapless student would contemplate flight or other desperate measures. But only for a moment — only for the length of time it took to note the twinkle in the life-loving eyes. And the student knew then that he had found a new friend. As an old, old friend to so many of us, he departs now and leaves us sorrowing at the close of the book. The profession of historical scholarship, enriched by his contributions yet has an unfillable vacancy. Philip C. Sturges Chairman Department of History University of Utah
. . . I n many respects [Utah h i s t o r y ] . . . is the history of the early western frontier, for U t a h to a large degree was a typical frontier community. I n U t a h there reoccurred the successive institutions of frontier development common to other similar areas: the romantic fur trader, who discovered and marked the trails; the scientific explorer, who recorded accurately information of vital importance about the topography of the region; and the pioneer home-seeker, whose coming was at least accelerated, if not determined, by the earlier trapper and explorer. Like other characteristic frontier settlements, the inhabitants of U t a h had to contend with problems pertinent to pioneer civilization; the establishment of government, protection from Indian invasions, the development of a self-sufficient agricultural and industrial economy, and the construction of adequate mail and transportation facilities. There was also in U t a h the characteristic demand for self-government and the tendency to be excessively self-assertive and impatient of federal delay and negligence. [The Founding of an Empire: the Exploration and Colonization of 1776-1856, by Leland Hargrave Creer [Salt Lake City, 1947], vii)
Utah,
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Saltair, Great Salt Lake's Most Famous Resort
Saltair as it appeared-after its construction in 1893.
BY J O H N D. C. GADD
After the original structure burned, alterations changed the design as here shown.
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first became familiar to the people in Salt Lake City during the year 1888. The Inland Salt Company, realizing the possibilities for salt production in the Great Salt Lake area, constructed large evaporation ponds for that purpose. Two 150-horsepower engines were used to pump water from the lake into the ponds, and by 1889 over fifty tons of salt were being produced daily.2 The company was served by a railroad line running from Salt Lake City that not only transported salt but pleasure seekers who frequented the resorts on the south shore of the lake. By 1893 resorts on the lake had become commonplace, with Garfield Beach enjoying most of the business. Plans for the construction of Saltair were not generally known, and so it was with a great deal of surprise that citizens read the following front page story in the Deseret Evening News on January 14, 1893. F O R S A L T A I R E ! T o the Lake in Twenty Minutes and Back in Sixteen. T H E N E W B A T H I N G R E S O R T . A Detailed Description of Its Magnificent and Costly Buildings. M A M M O T H D A N C I N G H A L L . Spacious Promenades, Elegant Parlors, Club and Bath Rooms, Pure Water and a Sandy Shore. The fact is Salt Lake will soon have another big bathing resort open to her citizens and the traveling public. One that will spread her name and fame as a sanitarium wherever newspapers are read or words transmitted by lightning. Bathing in the surf in America's Dead Sea has already become world renowned, but no such a watering place has ever been erected on its shores as the one which will be formally opened at Saltair beach on Decoration Day in May next. T h e Salt Lake & Los Angeles railroad of which Geo. Q. Cannon, is president; Joseph F. Smith, vice President; Wilford Woodruff, James Jack and Nephi W. Clayton, directors, . . . is now completed and in good condition to the lake. T h e line leaves this city at South Temple street and runs directly west a distance of fourteen miles. In conversation with General Manager Clayton last evening a NEWS reporter ascertained that the rolling stock â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which is all of the most modern type â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has been ordered and will soon be here ready for use. Trains will run to Saltair at least once an hour and probably every forty minutes during the bathing season. . . . T h e approach is built upon piling and is 4000 feet long, extending to the grand pavilion that distance from the shore to a point where the water is between four and five feet deep, . . . T h e pavilion is a magnificent piece of architectural work, and with the approach and bath houses will cost $200,000, . . . . . the first floor is comprised of one large apartment to be used for general picnicing purposes, and a series of smaller ones for restaurant,
Mr. Gadd is a high school teacher in Kearns, Utah. Early reports spelled Saltair with an "e" as the last letter, but later the "e" was dropped. For convenience and uniformity of this article, the latter spelling will be used. 2 Deseret News (Salt Lake City), June 1, 1888. 1
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refreshment stands and toilet rooms. T h e second floor contains a large and magnificent dancing hall, dressing rooms, club rooms and ladies' and gents' parlors. These are all surmounted with a mammoth suspension roof constructed out of 300 tons of steel after the style of the Salt Lake Tabernacle and about the same size. . . . The third and fourth stories will be encircled by spacious promenades from which the bathers can be seen sporting in the brine. O n the fifth floor is a massive cupola and main observatory from which the various islands of the lake and mountains, cities and towns in Salt Lake, Tooele, Davis and other counties can be easily seen. . . . The company will illuminate the great pavilion, towers, bath houses and approach with thousands of electric lights the rays of which on the gaily painted and many colored buildings and on the silvery waves will present a scene of grandeur and dazzling beauty which can scarcely be equaled even in the writings of Oriental story tellers.
Toward the end of February, the Salt Lake City Council made a trip to Saltair to view the work and reportedly were amazed at the progress.3 Pile driving had already commenced, with machinery for this work located on flat boats. The lake bed around the proposed resort is composed of hard sodium, and in order to sink pilings, steam first had to be forced into the lake bed to melt the sodium. The piles were then lowered into place, and after a few hours the sodium hardened again. Thus placed, a piling was virtually immovable. Following completion of this project, over three hundred men were employed in the construction of the main pavilion. The first steel span was ready for installation by the middle of April. 4 All members of the Saltair Board of Directors were on hand to witness the placing of this 132-foot beam on top of supporting pillars, and construction of the roof was begun. It had been planned originally that Saltair would open on the traditional opening day for all resorts on the lake â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Memorial Day. Work was not sufficiently completed to allow the resort to open, however, and a postponement of one week was necessary. And so it was that on June 8, 1893, a new resort opened on the shores of Great Salt Lake that was destined to become one of the most famous resorts Utah would ever have. 5 The water under the pavilion at the time of opening was four-feet two-inches deep. The whole project had been completed in less than six months at a cost of about $250,000. 6 Lake ChyJ) J ^ T l " 1
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Deseret News, April 19. 1893. 5 Ibid., June 3, 1893. "Ibid., May 12, 1893.
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Saltair
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Special trains carried hundreds of people to Saltair from Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake City for the dedicatory services. After a few stirring selections by Pederson's Band, Colonel Wendall Benson, master of ceremonies, introduced Governor Caleb W. West who made the following remarks: I am pleased to be present on this auspicious occasion in the presence of such a happy throng of people. I am more than pleased to see such a conclave of people here to pay tribute to the genius, and enterprise which have made the building of this structure possible. U p o n this platform at my right, sits President Woodruff, a wonderful man. Although eighty six years of age, and just recovered from a severe seige of sickness, he shows the earnestness of his nature by his presence here today. Less than fifty years ago solitude reigned supreme on the shores of this marvelous body of water. But the silence was broken by the brave band of pioneers who sought homes in the wilderness . . . .
The governor went on to say that the pavilion on which the throng had gathered was the greatest structure of its kind he had ever seen. He concluded saying "It was a triumph of architectural genius and those whose minds conceived it would have their names inscribed on the roll of honor by reason of their accomplishments . . . ." 7 After various dignitaries had spoken, a banquet was served on the second floor of the main pavilion which was also the dance floor. After the banquet the tables and chairs were cleared away and a dance was held. Over seven thousand people attended the opening day festivities. Saltair would eventually be known for the excellent bands that would play for dancing, and as this first year moved along, the number of musicians in Pederson's Band were doubled in n u m b e r . It was expressed editorially that the finest in the way of music, bands, concerts, and operas would be presented at Saltair in the future. As part of this policy, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir of Salt Lake City gave regular concerts. 8 The first year was occupied by various organizations conducting excursions to the resort. The season closed on Labor Day with a masquerade ball and carnival. 9 As opening approached the following year (1894), the water was shallower than the previous year, but the opening day throng exceeded 'Ibid., June 9, 1893. 'Ibid., August 10, 1893. Ibid., August 23, 1893. Labor Day was not a national holiday until 1894, although Oregon observed it as early as 1890. The date here is used to keep uniformity throughout the article as this date became the traditional closing day. 9
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all expectations and the railroad found itself in the position of borrowing rolling stock of all varieties to transport pleasure seekers to the lake shore. The highlight of the second year of operation was the statehood celebration held on August 1. The featured attraction of the program was reading of a proclamation by Governor West calling a Utah Constitutional Convention. Music was provided by the Democratic and Republican Glee Clubs and such distinguished guests as George Q. Cannon, Delegate Joseph L. Rawlins, Judge C. C. Goodwin, Chief Justice Samuel A. Merritt, and the Honorable John T. Caine participated on the program. Over five thousand persons gathered at Saltair for this occasion. 10 Saltair soon became a popular place for political parties to hold their rallies and conventions. Almost immediately it was apparent that the size of the dance floor would allow for a wide variety of functions, and one of the first groups to test this was the YMCA, which conducted a gymnastic tournament. As the second year of operation came to a close, the net earnings of the resort amounted to $19,796.57.X1 This did not include the money earned from the railroad, as this was a separate company, although the board of directors of both Saltair and the railroad was identical. In the meantime Garfield Beach was still having its fair share of the resort patronage, but it was apparent Garfield would have trouble competing with the size of the productions Saltair planned staging. Toward the end of 1894, in an effort to outdo Saltair, Garfield Beach engaged both the Tabernacle Choir from Salt Lake City and the Logan Tabernacle Choir to present concerts. 12 Saltair recorded its first fatality on July 8, 1896, when Charles Manca died of apparent heart failure while swimming in the salt water. 13 Despite an accident now and then, the general atmosphere at Saltair during these first few years was one of constant gaiety, but during the latter part of 1901 the first clouds of controversy started to swirl around the resort. During August of 1901, both the Dcscrct News and the Salt Lake Tribune charged that the management of Saltair was selling beer openly. "Man that is born of women, for six days is full of trouble. O n the seventh he goeth to Saltair and becometh full of liquid refreshments." 14 The Salt Lake Tribune charged that on the previous Sunday, Saltair had 10
Deseret Newi, July 21, 1894 and August 1, 1894. Ibid., June 8, 1895. "Ibid., August 14, 1894. 13 Ibid., July 8, 1896. "Ibid., August 5, 1901. 11
%ical Quarter^
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enjoyed the biggest crowd of the year and the waiters were kept busy providing beer to anyone who desired it. Both papers were unanimous in declaring that Utah's Sunday Closing Law had been violated. The manager refused to comment on the charges, but was later relieved of his post and replaced by Mr. J. E. Langford who vowed there Ch
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would be no beer sold at Saltair during the following year (1902). Despite Langford's statement, notices often appeared in the local papers charging that the law was being violated at the resort. Research indicated to this writer that these were charges only, no evidence was discovered that any formal complaints were ever signed. It was becoming evident that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had controlling interest in Saltair, was losing much of its influence at the resort. Following these initial charges, President Joseph F. Smith of the Mormon church issued an order that liquor would no longer be available at Saltair. 15 Despite this order there continued to be repeated charges and denials. It was rumored for some time that the church would like to relieve itself of the obligation of Saltair, and when the first reasonable offer was presented the church would be willing to accept. An offer was proposed on February 24, 1901, but this was turned down on the grounds the church did not want the resort to fall into the wrong hands. 16 Although the church would be relieved of the responsibility of Saltair, the ideal condition for transfer of the resort would be to a private organization composed of church members. Such an agreement was finally signed on March 18, 1906. The controlling interests of both Saltair and the railroad were turned over to Colonel Nephi W. Clayton, C. W. Nibley, and J. E. Langford, who had been manager since 1902.1T The illegal sale of liquor was not the only problem faced by Saltair during the early 1900's. As early as 1901 the water around the pavilion was receding, and the church authorized dredging of the area in order that deep water might be maintained. 18 The wind also proved a constant problem, and in 1905 the dance floor was enclosed with windows, thus creating a more comfortable atmosphere for dancing. 19 By 1907 the water had receded far enough from the resort that Mr. Langford was forced to build a continuous cable from the pavilion to deep water. Rafts could be attached to the cable and towed to deeper water; this operated much as does a modern-day ski lift. These were the days when girls wore bathing suits of heavy woolen goods with long skirts below their knees. The blouses fit close around '" ibid. 10 Interview with one of the managers of Saltair, Mr. Joel Richards, of Salt Lake City who C m P E W H L ? r d f m t h E c c . n t r a I . °ffiuc.e °f Saltair. Special thanks are expressed to M r Richards for many of the facts contained m this article about which there is no written record Deseret News, March 18, 1906. "Ibid., October 18, 1901. "Ibid., February 6, 1905.
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their necks and sleeves reached the elbow. No girl around the turn of the century would think of exposing her bare feet and ankles and, therefore, wore long black stockings to cover them. Even the men wore long-legged trunks that reached the knees and blouses with sleeves halfway below the elbows. As the 1909 season opened it was announced Saltair would have a new attraction. This was a "ship cafe" built alongside the pier where the finest food anywhere in the West would be served. The ship cafe was over two hundred feet long, ninety feet wide, and seventy feet high. The kitchen was outfitted with brick ovens so bread could be baked on the scene. The biggest refrigerators Salt Lakers had seen were also installed in order to insure the freshness of all perishables. 20 The first floor of the cafe contained the kitchen and associated facilities. The second floor was the cafe proper, and the roof was a promenade and general relaxation area. During the first few weeks prior to the opening of the cafe, a contest was held to give the cafe an official name. Over twenty-seven hundred names were submitted and Mrs. W. S. Wallace, Salt Lake City, was selected as the winner with her name of "Leviathan." Various names were submitted such as "The Lambourne," "The Langford" (who was manager at the time), and the usual variety of comical names such as "The Barge Tavern," "The Splash Inn," "The Kumonin," "The Maneata," "The Grub Box," and "Noah's Ark." 2 1 June 23 was the grand opening and Alice Spry, daughter of the governor of Utah, properly dedicated the "Leviathan" in the way all ships should be christened, by breaking a bottle of champagne over its bow. Over 350 guests were invited to the ceremony after which a banquet was served in the second-floor cafe. This jubulant celebration was of such a nature most people forgot about the dismal opening day festivities of 1909. Arrangements had been made for the Paines Fireworks Company to provide shows on the first three nights of the new season. The contract called for barges to be towed out into the lake, and from these barges a brilliant fireworks display would usher in the new resort season. The contract was never fulfilled as the fireworks company experienced difficulties in transporting their goods from the East. The opening day at Saltair still outdrew all 20 21
Salt Lake Herald, May 20, 1909. Ibid., June 24, 1909.
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other resorts of the area, despite the fact that no fireworks were seen. This is evident from the following: Saltair Utah Jockey Club The Salt Palace Lagoon Wandemere (Nibley Park) Liberty Park Other Places
11,000 people 7,000 6,000 5,000 5,000 3,000 Everybody else.22
During 1909 the dance floor of the pavilion was refinished and nonstop dancing was introduced. Orchestras were placed at both ends of the pavilion and when one orchestra stopped playing, the other started; thus, there was never a lull in the music. One attraction had been dropped since 1908 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the bicycle races held on a specially constructed track in the pavilion. This same type of activity was a regular feature of the Salt Palace, and attendance at Saltair did not warrant a continuation when it was obvious the Salt Palace drew the larger crowd. 23 Spectacular attractions did not end when the bicycle races were discontinued. The pavilion had generally become called the "Hippodrome" and during 1909 it saw such attractions as the Schuberts of New York, a team of flying ballerinas. Seats were set up on the dance floor and prices varied according to where a person sat. Over two thousand seats went on sale for fifteen cents each; fifteen hundred were available at twenty-five cents each; and there were a few hundred reserved seats for fifty cents each. 24 Saltan's reputation spread fast, and the San Francisco Examiner, in a lengthy article reporting on the excursion to Saltair of the American Civil War Veterans, told its readers that "Saltair is the Coney Island of the West." 25 During 1909 Saltair continued its policy of having well-known bands and orchestras appear regularly for dancing as well as concerts. McClellan's Symphony Orchestra of over fifty pieces, Ellery's Italian Band, and Innes' Orchestral Band were some of the bands featured. Saltair wound up one of its most successful seasons amid reports that the President of the United States would visit the resort in conjunction 22
Deseret News, June 1, 1909. bid V. :0 J n h e ÂŁ a l t Palace, located on Ninth South between Main and State streets, was con4 structed in 1899. The Palace and Saltair were designed by the same architect Richard K A Kletting. 24 Salt Lake Daily Telegram, June 5, 1909. ^ San Francisco Examiner, August 15, 1909.
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with a planned trip to Salt Lake City. President William Howard Taft was to arrive in Salt Lake City about the twenty-fifth of September, and there was a rumor Saltair would stay open beyond the regular Labor Day closing. However, bad weather accompanied with a drop in attendance resulted in the resort closing as usual. When President Taft made his scheduled appearance in Salt Lake City, he took time to visit Saltair, but stayed only a few minutes and returned by train to the city.26 Looking for bigger and better attractions, Saltair announced early in 1910 that a championship boxing match between Jack Johnson and Jim Jefferies would be staged in the Hippodrome on July 4. Jack Johnson agreed to the fight only if former President Theodore Roosevelt would be the referee. Opposition to the boxing match arose from Governor Spry and local law enforcement officials. Preliminary plans moved ahead smoothly, but opposition continued to mount and finally forced the postponement of the fight. A new location outside of Utah was sought to hold the fight.27 Local boxing matches were held, however, but they were a far cry from the bouts that are common in today's sporting world. The proposed Jefferies-Johnson championship fight would have been a forty-five round affair, standard in those days for a fight of championship calibre. Other matches lasted for only twenty rounds, and were staged successfully at the Hippodrome. The names of Frank Picate, Cyclone Johnny Thompson, and Pete Sullivan were common in the sport pages of the day. In early March a boxing match was staged between Cyclone Johnny Thompson and Pete Sullivan which ended in Sullivan being knocked out. Because of the rush of commutors to catch the 11:00 P.M. train from Saltair, one of the stairways leading from the pavilion collapsed. Although many people were hurt, no serious injury was sustained by any of the spectators. 28 When the 1910 season officially opened, more than ten thousand people who flocked to Saltair saw several improvements to the resort. New bathhouses had been constructed and all buildings repainted. From Saltair's inception a roller coaster had been featured and now was completely repaired and enlarged. The railroad track that ran to the main area of the pavilion had been supported previously by pillars similar in style to those supporting the resort. The track now was firmed-up by a dirt- and sand-fill in some places. 29 Earlier in the year, in February, a 26
Deseret News, September 25, 1909. "Salt Lake Herald, January 17, 1910. 23 Ibid., March 3, 1910. 29 "Journal History," May 30, 1910.
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UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
R. Owen Sweeten, band leader, and the Saltair Band in 1919. Mr. Swcetcn's played at Saltair for seven years from 1917 to 1923.
Band
freakish blast of wind, estimated at a velocity of sixty miles per hour, accounted for the destruction of two hundred bathhouses and a few yards of railroad trestle. In early April a violent gale struck the resort causing an estimated $10,000 damage. On the main pier 325 bathing houses were washed away, and a hundred yards of railroad track had been torn up. Custodians rushing from the premises reported to the news media that they had to cling to rocks and boulders or anything substantial in order to prevent themselves from being carried off by the wind. 30 Incidents such as these were common and forced the owners to make needed repairs before the resort could open for the summer. The new season saw a continuation of the tradition of providing excellent bands and orchestras, and Ferullo's Band had been hired for m
Ibid., April 3, 1910.
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the entire season. Just when it appeared all was running smoothly, the reoccurring liquor problem reared its head, and the controversy started anew. Already this season one young girl has been sent to the state industrial school at Ogden, and another is under suspended sentence at the same place. . . . Another young girl, less than 16 years old, got so drunk at that resort that she could not walk home. . . . T h e records of the juvinille court of this city will prove that the first downward step of many young girls who have been before the court was taken when they drank what they supposed to be a social glass of beer at one or other of these resorts . . . . 31
The newspaper asked for repeal of Saltair's liquor license and gained strong support in their appeal from the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Other incidents also started to mar the atmosphere of Saltair. An eighteen-year-old girl attempted suicide in the bathhouses at Saltair by swallowing an unidentified drug. A Negro was. ejected from Saltair because of his race and upon taking the case to court, which only helped bring more unfavorable publicity to the resort, the judge ruled that when he was ejected he should have been refunded his twenty-five-cent admission fee.32 Following the wind storm earlier in April, another bad storm hit the resort on July 5. However, it did not do as much damage as the previous storm. Most damage was sustained by the two excursion boats Irene and Vista which were loaded with sightseers. They were torn from their moorings and blown over two miles from the resort. The stormy year was capped by the visit of the Grand Army Veterans, a Civil War organization, which held a convention in Salt Lake City. Because they were veterans Lagoon, Wandemere, and other resorts in Salt Lake City and the surrounding area invited them to visit their facilities free of charge. The idea of free admission was that a great deal of money would be spent once such a large group had arrived. For a month prior to the veterans' arrival, Saltair Company officials insisted that this group would have to pay full train fare and admittance fee if they wanted to visit the resort. Opposition in the daily newspapers and from other resorts became so intense a small boycott resulted, and in a last minute effort to save themselves from the rest of a dismal season, Saltair relented and admitted the veterans free of charge. 31 32
Deseret News, May 17, 1910. Salt Lake Telegram, July 1, 1910, and Salt Lake Tribune, July 3, 1910.
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There were many interesting and varied events held in the Hippodrome, but perhaps the most unusual was a tribe of Shoshoni Indians from Pocatello. In the middle of the dance floor, an Indian village was constructed, and for a twenty-five- or fifteen-cent admission fee, a spectator could see any facet of Indian life. This ranged from sporting events to marriage ceremonies performed in full view of all attending. 33 While the resort season itself was happy and gay, the biggest problem faced by Saltair was not seen by the public. Each spring huge amounts of money had to be expended to restore many of the buildings damaged during the winter. Almost every year a fresh coat of paint had to be applied to every structure. By 1916 there were charges that the owners of the resort were allowing it to fall into disrepair. 34 It was this year Saltair experienced her first major fire when hot coals spilled from one of the steam engines while stationed in the depot. Over $3,000 worth of damage was incurred. Despite such incidents as these and constant repair, over three hundred thousand people went to Saltair yearly, with the attendance on Labor Day usually around the ten thousand mark. 35 As early as 1909 there had been talk of replacing the steam engines with electric engines.36 Bids were taken, but at the time not enough money was available for the conversion. The company also seemed to be more interested in extending its lines from their termination at Fifth West and South Tempfe streets into the center of Salt Lake City. In spite of constant appeals to the city fathers, permission to extend the lines was not granted. 37 By 1917 prices had risen considerably due to World War I, and the cost of electrifying the line had also increased. T o allow funds for the work, the L.D.S. church agreed to take a second mortgage on the original sale, thus making the necessary funds available. T o protect its financial interest in the railroad and resort, the church appointed Mr. Joel Richards secretary-treasurer of both the railroad company and the resort. After three years Mr. Richards was able to report to the church many discrepancies in the handling of the company's funds and upon confrontation of these facts, a Mr. Nelson, who was the resort manager, was forced to resign his post. Mr. Richards was appointed to fill his place. 38 33
Salt Lake Herald, July 20, 1910. "Deseret News, April 28, 1916. "Ibid., September 3, 1917. 30 "Journal History," August 28, 1909. 31 Ibid., January 10, 1910. writer L l ? d
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By 1919 the lines were installed for the necessary conversion from steam to electricity, and by mid-July six electric cars had been received from the manufacturing point in Illinois. These proved very successful in transporting people to and from the resort much faster than was possible by steam and also without the inconvenience of smoke and ashes. 39 From 1917 through 1923 the most popular band at Saltair was Mr. R. Owen Sweeten. In an article in the Salt Lake Tribune in 1961, Mr. Sweeten recalled his days at Saltair and how he played for more than five thousand paid admissions each week. On special occasions upwards of nine thousand people crowded the dance floor. He had two bands, one, consisting of twenty-eight pieces, was mostly brass and played on weekday evenings through the summer. On Sundays Mr. Sweeten would supplement this group with twenty or more pieces to make a concert orchestra. Concerts were a very popular part of Sunday life at Saltair, and as many as two thousand people would take their lunches and listen to the music. 40 In 1924 Owen Sweeten left Saltair and took his band to California, but this did not mean the end of music at the resort. He was replaced by Phil Fisher who had been playing for a number of years at Venice, California, and continued to draw large crowds when he played at Saltair. During the 1910 season when boxing matches were held at Saltair, it had been customary to open the resort as early as March for these contests, but it was generally the rule that the season opened on Memorial Day. Mr. Richards recognized the need to return to this policy when attendance at Saltair started to drop. If the weather was favorable, he often opened the Hippodrome for dancing on weekends as early as April and on a good weekend, the attendance figure would be around five thousand. Transportation costs had risen from twenty-five cents to thirty-five cents, but people still continued to ride the train. Another innovation conducted under the supervision of Mr. Richards was the first automobile raffle in the State of Utah. Mr. Richards related how he was instrumental in obtaining a new Hupmobile which, it was announced, would be given away toward the end of the season. Every time a person paid to enter Saltair, he was given a ticket, half of which went into a large raffle box. The results of the first drawing attracted over fifteen thousand people to the resort. It proved to be so popular that this was a regular feature during the next four years. 41 39
Deseret News, July 14, 1919. Salt Lake Tribune, June 18, 1961. 41 Joel Richards interview. 40
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The roaring twenties are remembered as perhaps America's last wild fling before the gloomy days of the 1930's. Saltair had a large part to play in the gay time that was being had by all. Excursions stopped regularly in Salt Lake City from all over the United States in order that people could enjoy the uniqueness Saltair had to offer. The best known of these excursions were trains from Chicago run by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad which sponsored trips all over the country. 42 Rudolph Valentino is a name that was almost synonomous with the 1920's. During this era Valentino and his dancing partner appeared at Saltair. Mr. Richards related how Mr. Valentino had been staying in a downtown hotel and was to be driven to the pavilion at night for his performance. When the car carrying him came within about three miles of the resort the traffic jam was so intense it was impossible to gain entrance. Word was relayed to Saltair to send a train toward Salt Lake and rescue Mr. Valentino, and he safely made his way into the pavilion that was jammed to capacity. Although he was an hour and a half late in arriving, no one had left Saltair. As gay as the 1920's were, there were indications that darker days were coming. To Saltair every automobile was its own bearer of bad news. With each family owning a car, it became possible to find means of entertainment that heretofore were unknown. A trip to the canyons or resorts north of Salt Lake became possible, and the first to suffer from this new innovation was the railroad serving Saltair. A sharp decline was noted in passenger service as more and more people took their own cars to Saltair. This meant that parking facilities had to be provided. When the water was low enough, the cars could park under the pavilion. As Mr. Richards looked back to the time when he was connected with Saltair, 1924 was the best year on record. Since that time Saltair has never been the same, and all attempts to pump new life into the resort for the most part have failed. During 1924 the lights burned brightly every night of the short resort season, and as Labor Day approached, no one realized they were enjoying the original Saltair for the last time.
D
eath came suddenly to Saltair. On April 22, 1925, fire, the most feared enemy of all the wooden buildings, was loosed and tore into the resort. Flames consumed the roller coaster, burned the "Leviathan" to the water line, and destroyed most of the pavilion. The midway was 42
Ibid.
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UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Saltair midway as it appeared in the 1940's. The resort slowly declined after 1925 and had a precarious existence until it closed in 1958.
turned to charcoal along with the bathing piers and all the bathhouses. The railroad tracks and pier were consumed as heat buckled the steel rails. Smoke and ashes, characteristic of a disasterous fire, hung in the air for many days. Early estimates placed the damage at $750,000. In order to rebuild the resort to the point where it could function again, well over $350,000 would have to be invested. Fire insurance amounted to only $165,000 which meant a private investor would have to spend over $185,000 to restore the resort. The mourning period for the most famous resort Utah has ever seen, or will ever see, lasted almost five years as people tried to decide what should be done. Several factors contributed to the indecision about Saltair. One was the amount of money needed for restoration. No investor was willing to invest $185,000 unless he were fairly certain of a good return, and this
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was not a sure thing. Another factor was the short season at the lake. Usually the resort opened for about one hundred days â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Sometimes this was extended by opening on weekends early in April, but this was not the case generally. Labor Day was usually the last day of the season, and as many as ten thousand people or more would crowd the facilities; but if there were a cold spell in August, the rest of the season was doomed. Then there were the problems of upkeep. Each spring huge amounts of money were needed to repaint and repair after the winter's devastation. The heaviness of the salt brine and the lashing wind always caused extensive damage. Lastly were the problems involved in sewage disposal and fresh water supply. Ever since Saltan's conception, septic tanks had been used as a means of eliminating sewage from the resort. This was not a big problem, but the supply of fresh water proved more difficult. All fresh water had to be shipped from Salt Lake City to the resort in tank cars. Upon arriving at Saltair the water was pumped into huge tanks on top of the pavilion, and from there it would flow to all points on the resort by gravity; but the cost of processing the water and keeping it fresh was not a little amount. 43 Another factor that entered the picture was the success of Lagoon, a resort in Farmington, Davis County. During all these years Lagoon had been doing a fine business. The one big advantage of Lagoon over Saltair was that patrons could "swim in water fit to drink." Both Lagoon and Saltair were served by railroad lines and had big bands, but whereas Saltair featured nationally known bands like Owen Sweeten and Phil Fisher, Lagoon offered free Monday night dancing and concentrated on local bands that in the long run proved to be less expensive. With the end of Saltair, Lagoon enjoyed the distinction of being the only resort of its kind in the state. People who had enjoyed Saltair found themselves journeying to Lagoon and memories of Saltair grew dim. It was not until 1929 that Saltair again opened its gates to the public. Plans had been announced to reopen immediately after the fire in 1925, but nothing materialized. 4 4 In 1929 Willard T. C a n n o n , David R Howells, and Ashby Snow bought Saltair and rebuilt it along the lines of its original design. The newest innovation to greet pleasure seekers was a parking lot, indicating the impact of the automobile on the local entertainment scene.45 "Joel Richards interview. Deseret News, April 22, 1925. 40 Ibid., May 29, 1926. 44
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In the meantime suggestions had come from Ogden to rebuild Saltair on the east shore of the lake where it would be in a favorable position to draw people not only from Salt Lake City, but also from Ogden and towns in the northern portion of the state. 46 An offer was made by Heber J. Grant, president of the L.D.S. church, to give Saltair to the city of Salt Lake to be run by the city fathers, but this offer met with strong opposition and was dropped. 47 When Saltair reopened in 1929, the three new owners thought they had conquered the problems that had plagued Saltair. But in the interim Sunset and Black Rock beaches had opened on the south shore, and Saltair soon found itself wanting for patrons. Most of the people from Salt Lake preferred the new beaches and only tourists visited Saltair. To counter this Saltair opened its own Crystal Beach, but this was not enough to lure the public back. 48 Plans were laid to rebuild the giant racer, and work was started in 1931. However, all came to naught as fire swept the construction site on June 22, 1931. 49 The following year work commenced again, but this time a freak gust of wind tore through the racer and toppled it killing two of the workers. 50 All during the 1930's Saltair operated, but each year found the resort losing money while the smaller beaches of Sunset and Black Rock made a profit. Willard T. Cannon and David P. Howells grew tired of attempting to make Saltair the proud lady she had once been and sold their shares to Ashby Snow. The Snow family held title to the resort until the 1960's.51 Various communities surrounding the lake used the lake as a sewage disposal area, and the water became contaminated and unattractive. There were cleaner places to go for entertainment, such as Lagoon, and the canyons in the summer offered relief from the heat. With the outbreak of World War II, Saltair closed its gates and from all available information did not open again until the middle 1950's. Following the end of World War II, rumors began circulating regarding the future of Saltair. Most young people had no desire to visit a resort that was dead. O n the other hand Lagoon was lit brightly each 46
Ibid., April 24, 1925. "Salt Lake Tribune, May 9, 1925. 48 Joel Richards interview. '""Journal History," June 22, 1931. "Ibid., May 21, 1932. 51 Interview with Mr. Art Teece, one-time manager of Saltair.
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night, and the younger set made nightly trips to this resort that was not operating under the threat of receding lake levels, fire, wind damage, and vandalism. Lagoon had everything that Saltair could offer except for the salt water, but not everyone enjoyed swimming in the unusual water that by this time was contaminated by sewage. Even with Saltair closed to the public, she was not safe from the aforementioned hazards. In June of 1951 fire once again raced through the bathhouses at the resort and caused over $50,000 damage. 52 During the war most of the rolling stock of the Saltair railroad not needed for the salt industry had been loaned to Hill Air Force Base to aid in the war effort. After the war, this rolling stock was returned, and nine trolley cars, an old electric locomotive, and a tank car used for hauling fresh water to Saltair were converted into two hundred tons of scrap metal in 1953. The open air rides to the resort were at an apparent end. 53 With the prosperity of the early fifties, people began recalling the "good old days" when Saltair was open, and in November of 1954 it was announced that a third attempt would be made to revive the resort and bring it back to its former prominence. 54 Before Saltair could be reopened to the postwar public, a great deal of rennovation had to be done. A new parking lot was constructed capable of handling over twelve hundred cars. New entrance gates were built along with new midway rides and promenade areas. A new roof was placed over the dance pavilion, and the dance floor was refinished. The giant racer was rebuilt and because of the huge expense entailed in liability insurance and related costs, this was constructed under a separate company known as The Saltair Giant Racer Company. In an attempt to create the illusion of being surrounded by water, an artificial lake was created around Saltair. Approximately six acres were diked off and water from the Great Salt Lake pumped into this area. The average depth was held at about four feet and for the first few weeks of operation of the resort in 1955, everything appeared it would work successfully. Various people had said that without a filtering system, brine shrimp and algae would enter the new lake and die thus causing cloudiness, discoloration, and odor. This did not happen, but the absence of any wave action did cause a clouding of the water due to the sodium bottom of the diked area. 55 "2Salt Lake Tribune, June 21, 1951. Deseret News & Telegram, July 6, 1953. "Ibid., November 10, 1954. °° Art Teece interview. ca
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A lot of work and preparation went into the rennovating of Saltair, and proudly it was once again opened to the public on May 27, 1955. 5e Its life, however, was to be short-lived. The old problems of wind and fire had not been overcome, and in June of 1957 a fire, which apparently broke out in the boiler room, raced through the bathhouses and caused several thousand dollars damage. The pier on which these bathhouses stood was destroyed along with many of the pilings supporting the pier. The pavilion and the main amusement area were not damaged, although some of the concession buildings were slightly damaged. The damage was quickly repaired, the burned pier and bathhouses were cleaned away, and business went on as usual. On Friday, August 30, 1957, a freakish blast of wind, estimated at a velocity of seventy-five miles per hour, tore into the resort and swept away most of the giant racer. At the time of the blast, the racer was not in operation as it had been shut down at 3:00 P.M. when the intensity of the wind started to increase and it started to rain. Approximately sixty per cent of the racer was destroyed and the rest of the structure was so badly shaken it had to be torn down. The racer's two highest peaks of 110 feet with eight lesser peaks came down while the north end of the racer was left wobbling. There were no immediate plans to rebuild it.57 During this brief lease on life during the mid-1950's, an attempt was made to bring Saltair back to what it once was. A policy was announced to bring name bands to Saltair to play for one or two weeks. On the weekends big-name vocalists would be brought in to sing with the bands, and local radio stations carried live programs from the pavilion. Engagements were announced for Stan Kenton, Charlie Barnet, Tony Pastor, and Buddy Morrow. O n the weekends such people as Gogi Grant, The Crew-Cuts, Frankie Laine, Nat "King" Cole, and The Ames Brothers had been booked. 58 Until the collapse of the giant racer, Saltair had regained some of its former brilliance. All concerned with the operation have stated it would have been better to close permanently at the end of 1957 rather than opening again in 1958. A picnic bowery was hurriedly constructed over the site of the racer and the gates opened on Memorial Day as usual, but it was a disastrous year financially. 50 Salt Lake Tribune, May 19, 1955. "Ibid., August 30, 1957. "Ibid., May 23, 1957.
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\Jn Labor Day 1958, the gates of Saltair swung shut and have remained closed since that time. Saltair has been uncared for and unattended since that day, and it slowly decays in the mud and slime where once the waters of Great Salt Lake lapped at its pillars. The winds and vandals have been tearing at the old buildings since it was closed. Early in 1959 the Utah State Park and Recreation Commission agreed to accept title to the resort as a gift from the stockholders of the Saltair Company. 59 This decision came after a long and fruitless search to find a lessee to take over the operation. Mr. Walt Disney was contacted to obtain his views on what lay ahead for Saltair. Mr. Disney reportedly said he would love to have something like Saltair if it were located in a metropolitan area of at least one million people in a climate where the resort could operate year around. Mr. Disney believed the stockholders of Saltair had seen their last tourist. 60 AH of Saltair was not a total loss, however. Early in 1960 all useable amusement equipment was removed from the midway and installed at Fairyland Park at American Fork for the enjoyment of retarded children at the Utah State Training School.61 When the Utah State Park Commission finally came to grips with the problem of what to do with Saltair, their first recommendation was to raze and remove it from the shores of the lake. 62 Before any final decision was reached, the Utah State Fair Board entered the picture in 1961. For some time criticism had been leveled at existing conditions of the Utah State Fairgrounds, and in an effort to alleviate the situation, the Fair Board considered moving several of the buildings at Saltair to the Fairgrounds. After tours of the buildings and estimates of the cost of removal, the Fair Board decided against this action and voted to move ahead with new construction. 03 In an effort to see if any other branch of state government could do anything with Saltair, the Park and Recreation Commission attempted to give title of the resort to the Board of Examiners. This was refused on the grounds the Board had no legal right to accept such a gift.64 50
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Deseret News, January 9, 1959. IntervieW W th M n
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Salt Lake Tribune, January 30, 1960. Deseret News, October 19, 1959. ""Salt Lake Tribune, May 27, 1961. 64 Deseret News, July 10, 1961. 32
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In the meantime the Salt Lake Yacht Club under the leadership of Dr. Thomas C. Adams came up with a proposal to restore Saltair, and any further action by the state was withheld. 65 Although the Salt Lake Yacht Club published a number of bulletins regarding what should be done in the way of restoration, no work was ever started. All efforts to accomplish anything faded and came to an abrupt end with the death of Dr. Adams on November 7, 1965. Saltair lay dormant until March 1965 when an agreement was signed by the Utah Park and Recreation Commission and the Board of Examiners whereby title of the resort passed into the latter's hands. The Board finally agreed to accept title to Saltair and the actual transaction took place July 7, 1965. 66 Soon after Saltair became the responsibility of the Board of Examiners, members of the Salt Lake Yacht Club joined forces with a group °* The Citizens League for the Protection, Planning and Development of Great Salt Lake, Restoration of Saltair, Circular # 1 5 , January, 1963. 60 Letter from Aldin O. Haywood, director of Utah State Park and Recreation Commission, to Honorable Clyde L. Miller, secretary of jtate, State of Utah, March 11, 1965. Letter contained quitclaim deed and escrow agreement, July 7, 1965 (Secretary of State's Office, State Capitol).
The ravages caused by weather and vandals can be seen in these photographs of Saltair. Since these photographs were taken, Saltair suffered another fire on September 1, 1967, which swept through much of the elevated apron leading to the resort. The fire was contained before the main pavilion with its large ballroom was destroyed. J O H N D. C. GADD
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interested in the restoration of Saltair under the leadership of Sheldon Brewster. The purpose of this merger was to fulfill the plans of the late Dr. Thomas Adams. After several meetings with the Board of Examiners, it was agreed that title of Saltair would temporarily pass into the hands of this group which was now known as Saltair, Incorporated. Terms of the contract were that Saltair, Incorporated, would raise and have on deposit the sum of $250,000 by December 1, 1966, in order that some meaningful restoration could take place. If this provision were not met, title to the resort would revert back to the State of Utah. 67 From August to December of 1966, Mr. Brewster and his organization conducted a campaign to collect needed funds. Volunteers were requested and some cleanup work was done at Saltair. When December 1 arrived, Saltair, Incorporated, fell far short of the needed $250,000 required in the contract. It was Mr. Brewster's opinion that if a few thousand dollars could be raised, the Board of Examiners would extend the terms of the contract, but this was not to be and title reverted back to the Board. 68 Secretary of State Clyde L. Miller then turned the problem of Saltair over to the Utah State Legislature. The Thirty-Seventh Legislature failed to make any decision regarding the future of the resort, and the problem is now resting with the Board of Examiners. Along with Saltair, other beaches along the south shore of the lake are run down and deserted. Black Rock Beach has not operated for a number of years, and the road to the beach is blocked by a barricade. A short distance east of Black Rock Beach lies Sunset Beach, which is almost deserted. A lady is on hand to sell potato chips and soft drinks, but the buildings are closed, locked, and falling into disrepair. The one bright spot on the shores of Great Salt Lake is Silver Sands Beach, located between Saltair and Sunset beaches. It is the only place visitors can enjoy the lake in any measure at all. Contrary to popular belief the sand is clean, free of insects, and very pleasant. Shower facilities are provided as well as cabanas where bathers can change into swimming attire. Future prospects look good for the establishment of a state park on the northern end of Antelope Island, which possesses sandy shores and deep water. The State of Utah recently signed an agreement with the Island Ranching Corporation, owners of Antelope Island, for a ten-year f c . " , C ^ n i f a C t c . b e t w e , , e n - S t a t e o f U t a h a n d S a l t a i r > Incorporated, August 5, 1966 (Secretary of State s Office, State Capitol). 08 Interview with Sheldon Brewster, president of Saltair, Incorporated.
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lease to the area. The Great Salt Lake Authority has some well-developed plans for utilizing the island, but until this project is completed, Silver Sands Beach is the only operating resort on the lake and, therefore, is assured of a prosperous future at least for the next few years. In the meantime Saltair continues to rot and decay and little is being done either to improve or remove it. From all indications it appears that the "good old days" will be just that, and that the memories a few old-timers have of open-air train rides to the pavilion and splashing in the salty brine will die with them, never to be experienced at Saltair again.
FIRE CONSUMES CONCOURSE AT SALTAIR RESORT Saltair â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Great Salt Lake's tired but once proud old lady â&#x20AC;&#x201D; had her skirts charred early Friday Morning. Fire swept through much of the elevated apron leading to the resort but firemen were able to prevent the flames from destroying the main pavilion with its large ballroom. . . . Flames from the fire lighted the sky over the lake and the glare against clouds could be seen all over Salt Lake and Davis and portions of Weber and Tooele counties. Sheldon R. Brewster, who heads a group seeking restoration of Saltair, said, "Whoever started this saved us thousands of dollars and speeded up the restoration." He explained that the area burned was to be demolished and made into a parking lot. . . . Secretary of State Clyde L. Miller, under whose jurisdiction Saltair now rests, said the state will not take any action to restore the resort. He made the statement after a survey of the area Friday morning. . . . (Salt Lake Tribune, September 2, 1967)
The Utah Legislature AND THE
Income Tax Amendment BY S T E W A R T L.
GROW
from Law-Makers of Utah, by Ernest J. Evans
Governor William Spry
T
to the Constitution of the United States, which authorized a federal income tax, has probably had as much direct effect on the people of the United States as any constitutional amendment. Such a lusty child of the Constitution did not come to fife without long labor and much conflict, and Utah's participation in the birth process forms an interesting chapter. The proposal that taxes should be raised on incomes was not a new proposal, but Congress had difficulty securing a clear-cut authority to enact a law providing for such a tax. Section 8, Article 1, of the original Constitution gives to Congress the power "to lay and collect taxes." Section 9 limits this power of tax collection by providing that "no capitation or other direct tax shall be laid unless in proportion to the census or enumeration." The question which had caused difficulty was whether the income tax constituted a direct tax. The answer came in 1895, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the income tax which Congress had passed. The legal reasoning used by the court was to the effect that a tax upon income derived from property is a tax upon property, and so a direct tax. Frequent heated discussions were held during the following years regarding the advisability of the income tax, and the question reached a climax during the administration of President William Howard Taft. Consideration was given by party leaders to the desirability of re-enacting a law similar to the one that had been declared unconstitutional. The party leaders hoped that the Supreme Court, now changed in personnel, would find it constitutional. However, President Taft took the view that such an act would tend to discredit the permanence of judicial decision. He favored a constitutional amendment; subsequently, Congress proposed the amendment to the legislatures of the several states by a resolution passed on July 12, 1909. T h e amendment was ratified according to a proclamation of the U.S. Secretary of State dated February 25, 1913. Forty-two states ratified it; three states, Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, apparently took no action on it; and three states, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah, rejected it. 1 Our interest is in Utah, where not only did her legislature consider the amendment and reject it, but did so twice. HE SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT
Dr. Grow is professor of political science and director of the Institute of Government Service at Brigham Young University. ' U . S . , Senate, Rules and Manual of the United States Senate (Washington, D.C., 1934), 404.
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The Sixteenth Amendment was first presented in Utah to the dominantly Republican 2 1911 legislature by Republican Governor William Spry, who, in spite of the fact that the Utah State Republican party platform endorsed ratification of the amendment, urged its rejection in his formal message: With this message, I transmit a certified copy of a resolution of Congress entitled: "Joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States," forwarded to me by the Honorable Secretary of State of the United States under date of July 26th, 1910, with the request that the same be submitted to the Legislature of this State for such action as may be had. This resolution provides for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as follows: "Article X V I . T h e Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." When ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, this amendment shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of the Constitution of the United States. In submitting this proposed amendment for your action, I do so with the recommendation that it be not ratified. While I believe in the taxation of incomes as an equitable method of raising revenues, and while I believe that Congress should have sufficient power to readily raise the necessary revenues in cases of emergency, I am opposed to an amendment which gives to Congress the broad power of taxing incomes at its pleasure. If incomes are to be taxed, the revenues derived therefrom, in my opinion, should go to the states from which such revenues are derived. The government has so many means of raising revenue to meet the public expense and the inland states in particular are so limited in their means to do so, that I am strongly opposed to the Federal Government, through the amendment proposed, encroaching on the rights of taxation that properly belongs to the several states. 3
In spite of Governor Spry's opposition, a fellow Republican, Senator Carl A. Badger, of Salt Lake City, introduced on the fourth legislative day of the session Senate Joint Resolution No. 1, favoring ratification of the amendment. 4 His action in opposing the governor's recommendations was commented on in the Salt Lake Tribune. Senator Carl A. Badger of Salt Lake City, Thursday introduced a joint resolution providing for the ratification by the legislature of the State of Utah of the proposed amendment to the constitution of the 2 Only two Democrats were present in the eighteen-member Senate and seven Democrats in the forty-nve-member House.
c, • State iait 1913
Ninth Session V rUtah ^ i , ^(Salt s TLake A ^City, i ' o1911), ' . W " l0cUnal. cited °> the Legislature of the of 64.u Hereafter as House Journal with the year. Ur l Te nth /(Salt « U wLake ' ?EnCity, £\e' ?S7ft* ?es*ion "•« Journal Legislature State of Utah, ( 1913), li 67. v Hereafter cited as°fSenate with ofthethe year.
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United States authorizing an income tax. I n this action Senator Badger adopts a course precisely opposite to that advised by Gov. Spry in his message to the legislature. T h e governor recommended that the legislature reject the proposed amendment, as he believed that the states and not the government should levy this tax. Senator Badger said that the governor very properly voiced his individual sentiments in his message to the legislature but that there was nothing in the message that bound the legislature to follow the recommendations of the governor. "The proposed amendment has been endorsed by all parties and is therefore not a partisan measure," said Mr. Badger. "Nearly all the members of this legislature were elected on a platform pledged to the ratification of this proposed amendment and from that fact I believe that the resolution will be carried." 5
Although Senator Badger had hoped to have the resolution referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, it was referred, January 13, to the Committee on Federal Relations, 6 which committee gave favorable consideration to the resolution and issued its report February 9. Your Committee on Federal Relations, to whom was referred Senate Joint Resolution No. 1, by Mr. Badger, entitled, "A joint resolution ratifying the proposed amendment of the Constitution of the United States authorizing an income tax," beg leave to report that they have had the same under consideration and recommend that the same be adopted. Respectfully, J. S. Funk, Chairman 7
One week later, February 16, the Senate gave its Third Reading to the resolution and passed it with a vote of twelve ayes, two nays, and four absent and not voting. The roll call indicated the following voting pattern. Ayes:
Badger ( R ) , Burton ( R ) , Funk ( D ) , Iverson ( R ) , Kelly ( R ) , Kuchler ( R ) , Marks ( R ) , Olson ( D ) , Sevy ( R ) , Smith ( R ) , Stookey ( R ) , Mr. President
(R) Nays: Horsely ( R ) , Hyde (R) Absent: Booth ( R ) , Lunt ( R ) , Williams ( R ) , Wilson ( R ) 8 Because only the results and none of the debates are recorded, the legislative journals of the Utah State Legislature are remarkably bare of "Salt Lake Tribune, January 13, 1911. "Senate Journal, 1913, 75. 'Ibid., 216. 8 Ibid., 256. The political affiliation of members was determined from newspaper reports, especially the Deseret News (Salt Lake City), February 18, 1911.
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any legislative color surrounding its actions. However, a Tribune writer described the Senate atmosphere at the time of passage: Senate joint resolution No. 1 by Badger, passed the Senate Friday afternoon by a vote of 12 ayes and 2 nays, and 4 absent and not voting. The resolution ratifies the proposed amendment to the constitution of the United States authorizing an income tax. It was passed after more than an hour of oratory, in which two members of the Senate took part. Senator Badger author of the resolution spoke for a full half-hour, during which he urged that the resolution be passed. Senator Olson spoke for nearly a half-hour in favor of the resolution, delivering the longest speech that he has yet delivered in the Senate. He was listened to with close attention, and at the close of his speech was liberally applauded by members of the senate and spectators. In explaining his vote against the resolution, Senator Hyde said that he believed in an income tax, but not such a one as contemplated by the resolution. He said, among other things, that in his opinion the government had been trying to conserve for itself the best natural resources which rightfully belonged to the states. 9
It is interesting to note that up until this time no action had been taken in the House toward ratification of this amendment. Upon passage by the Senate of the ratification resolution, the same was referred to the House where it arrived February 17, and was referred to the Committee on Judiciary. 10 Committee consideration of the measure produced a definite split in the committee's five-man membership. The minority report recommended passage of the amendment, and the majority report recommended the bill not be passed.11 The House at this time was caught in the usual end of the session rush and did not get around to considering the bill until March 13, which was four calendar days over the sixty-day session limit. However, the cloth had been placed over the clock, and the session continued as of legislative day March 9. During the rush, there was little time for debate, and the majority report, which recommended that the ratification resolution not be passed, was accepted by a vote of thirty-one ayes, ten nays, and four absent and not voting.12 Distribution by party is as follows: Ayes:
9
(Those opposing ratification) Allison ( R ) , Anderson ( R ) , Bickmore ( R ) , Cole ( R ) , Crapo ( R ) , Dahlquist ( R ) , Day ( R ) , Eardley ( R ) , Ekman ( R ) , Farnsworth ( R ) , Funk ( R ) , Grow ( R ) , Hayes ( R ) , Henrie ( R ) , Hines ( R ) , Holman ( R ) , Kearns ( R ) ,
Salt Lake Tribune, February 18, 1911. House Journal, 1911, 333. "Ibid., 436. 12 Ibid., 606. 10
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Langston ( R ) , Madsen ( R ) , Miller ( R ) , White ( R ) , Packard ( R ) , Pope ( R ) , Richardson ( R ) , Russell ( R ) , Smith ( R ) , Spencer ( R ) , Tobias ( R ) , Woolley ( R ) , Ziemer ( R ) , Mr. Speaker (R) Nays:
(Those favoring ratification) Harshberger ( D ) , Jones ( D ) , Meeks ( R ) , Morris ( D ) , Nebeker ( D ) , Page ( D ) , Peterson ( D ) , Sanderson ( R ) , Seeley ( R ) , Welling (D) Absent: McRae ( R ) , Stack ( R ) , Thomely ( R ) , Wooton (R)
The vote was split pretty well on party lines, with all but three of the Republicans voting against ratification of the income tax amendment and all of the Democrats voting for ratification. This makes an interesting political commentary inasmuch as the platforms of both parties supported ratification. The defeat of the drive for ratification apparently caused little emotion among the populace, for the major papers devoted very little space to that item. Commented the Deseret News in a small column entitled "Legislative Sidelights," With the cloth over the clock to permit the legislature to continue, the bill was defeated in the House on the last day of the session.13
Said the Tribune, In attempting to interpret the party platform with reference to the liquor question the legislature overlooked the plank in the platform pledging the legislature to ratify the proposed amendment to the constitution authorizing an income tax. The Senate passed the resolution ratifying the proposed amendment but the House killed it. 14
One reason for the lack of interest in the defeat of the amendment may have been that it was still somewhat distant from being ratified by the necessary number of states. A report of its 1911 status indicated that Nine more states must ratify the proposed income tax amendment before it can become a part of the federal constitution. Reports received here from the capitals of the forty-six states show that the amendment has received favorable action in the joint legislatures of twenty-six. Vermont, Rhode Island and U t a h have refused to ratify the amendment this year, while New Hampshire has taken favorable action in only one house of the legislature. Among the sixteen which have not acted, the question is pending in Louisiana, New York, Mass., Maine, Conn., Penn., and New Jersey. 13
Deseret News, March 13, 1911. "Salt Lake Tribune, March 19, 1911.
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The matter is scheduled to come before the Florida legislature next month. West Virginia has "postponed" action and Arkansas, Tenn., Wyoming, Minnesota and Delaware have not considered the matter. 1 5
T
he second consideration of the income tax amendment came shortly after the start of the Tenth Session of the Utah State Legislature, January 13, 1913. The party alignment in the Senate remained exactly the same as the previous legislature, with two Democrats and sixteen Republicans. In the House, however, the Democrats had picked up seven seats and now held fourteen as compared with thirty-one for the Republicans.16 Inasmuch as Senator Badger did not return to the Senate in 1913, Senator Benner X. Smith, of Salt Lake, became the sponsor of ratification in the Senate. On the first day that legislative business was transacted, January 15, 1913, Smith introduced Senate Joint Resolution No. I.17 Comment on Senator Smith's action and the general status of the amendment are found in the following Tribune item. The ratification of the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution authorizing the levying of an income tax is proposed in a Senate Joint Resolution introduced yesterday by Senator Benner X. Smith of Salt Lake. T h e resolution will lie on the table for one day, after which it will probably be referred to the Committee on State Affairs and Federal Relations. This proposed amendment to the federal constitution was proposed by Congress and it becomes a part of the constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the states. At present this proposed amendment has the ratification of all but two of the three-fourths of the states in the union. Two years ago an effort by the Utah Legislature to ratify the proposed amendment failed. The Senate passed "a resolution ratifying the amendment, but the House declined to do so. Ratification two years ago was defeated largely through the efforts of Governor Spry, who opposed the amendment on the ground that the revenue from the taxation of the incomes of the residents of the state should go to the state and not to the federal government. 18
By the time of the second introduction of the income tax resolution in the Utah Senate, the ratification of the amendment on a national basis was almost achieved; and there developed considerable rivalry among "Ibid., March 20, 1911. Deseret News, January 13, 1913. "Senate Journal, 1913, 77. "Salt Lake Tribune, January 16, 1913. 10
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several states throughout the nation to be the state to complete ratification. The following item is illustrative. In an effort to beat New Jersey to the honor of being the thirty-sixth state to ratify the income tax amendment to the federal constitution, New Mexico legislative leaders tonight planned for immediate action by the house when it reassembles tomorrow afternoon. A poll of the house shows an overwhelming majority of its members favorable to the joint resolution of ratification adopted by the Senate Saturday and it is planned to suspend the rules and rush the measure to immediate adoption. 15
The rivalry also took root in Utah, and Senator Smith took action to secure immediate consideration of his resolution. The Committee on State Affairs and Federal Relations had not considered the measure, so Senator Smith asked unanimous consent of the Senate to have it taken from the committee and given immediate consideration. The Senate agreed to his motion, and the resolution passed the Senate February 3 by a vote of thirteen to four.20 An analysis of the vote by party indicates that the two Senate Democrats favored its adoption, as did a large majority of the Republicans. Four Republicans, including Senate President Henry Gardner, voted in opposition. 21 The same day the Senate passed and sent to the House Senate Joint Resolution No. 1, Mr. Milton H. Welling introduced in the House a resolution of ratification. The House Journal states: House Joint Resolution No. 4 was read first and second times and Mr. Welling moved that the rules be suspended and the resolution be taken u p on Third Reading. Roll call was asked for and the motion was lost by the following vote: Ayes 18, nays 23, absent and not voting 3. . . T h e resolution was referred to the Committee on Federal Relations and Memorials to Congress. 22
An analysis of the voting by party indicates that in the group who voted "aye," twelve were Democrats and six were Republicans. Two Democrats were absent and did not vote. The resolution, therefore, had solid support from the Democratic side and all of the opposition votes were from the Republican ranks. The next item of business recorded in the House Journal was the transmittal from the Senate of the resolution to ratify the proposed income tax amendment. The resolution was referred to the House Committee on Resolutions. 23 "Ibid., February 3, 1913. Ibid., February 4, 1913. 21 Senate Journal, 1913, 157. 22 House Journal, 1913, 185. 23 Ibid. 20
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Analysis of this action, which eliminated any possibility that Utah might be one of the states whose vote would contribute to the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, indicates again the party split. Of the sixteen who favored immediate consideration of the resolution to ratify the amendment, thirteen were Democrats and three were Republicans. All opposing votes to consideration came from the Republicans. The action by the House resulted in a rather lengthy but most interesting and revealing article in the Tribune: The income tax issue had a lively inning in the house. As a result of the house proceedings, half of the income tax question reposes in the custody of the committee on federal relations and memorials and the other half rests with the committee on resolutions. Income tax doings began in the house when Welling of Box Elder introduced a ratification resolution. At the proper time he moved the suspension of the rules and the passage of the resolution. "I urge this action immediately," said Mr. Welling, "in order that Utah might take advantage of the opportunity to show its progressivism. The income tax amendment is a certainty. I t requires ratification by only one more state, and several states are hastening to beat one another to the honor. If U t a h acts quickly she may get that honor." Bamberger made a point of order against Welling proceeding. The point being that a motion to suspend the rules is not debatable. Welling asked Bamberger to withdraw the point. "There is no partisan question in this," he said. "All parties are agreed on it. All platforms demand it. There is no politics about it." Bamberger insisted on his point of order and demanded a reference of the resolution to a committee. T h e Speaker referred it to the committee on federal relations and memorials, after the motion to suspend had been defeated. "I am perfectly willing that it should go to that committee if my friend from Garfield [Mr. Henrie] wants it to go there. I want it to go just where he desired it should go," said Mr. Welling. There was a broad smile at this little dig at the chairman of the judiciary committee, whose requests for committee references have uniformly prevailed over those of Welling. When the Senate resolution came into the House Welling again moved a suspension of the rules. After much talk, none of which touched the question the rules were suspended and the resolution was on for final disposition. Welling moved its adoption. Barker of Weber said if there was to be an income tax the state should get the benefit of it. Welling said much the same thing. "I should like to ask the gentleman from Garfield," said Welling, "Whether or not he was elected on a platform declaring for the amendment?" "I don't know whether I was or not," said Henrie. "I was elected to come here and use my best judgment, and that is what I propose to do, and I shall vote against this resolution." . . .
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There was more wrangling before the motion was put. Welling declaring that the proposed action was intended to kill the resolution. "If it goes to a committee," said he, "it will never again see the light of day." T h e motion to send the resolutions to the committee on resolutions prevailed. 24
Contrary to Mr. Welling's prediction, the resolutions did again see the "light of day" but only long enough to suffer defeat. Mr. Welling's own House Joint Resolution No. 4 was reported out unfavorably by the Committee on Federal Relations and Memorials to Congress, and on February 10 the House adopted the adverse committee report. No roll call vote was taken. Apparently the Democrats intended to force the issue when the Senate resolution came before the House. On February 7, the Committee on Resolutions made an adverse report on Senate Resolution No. 1, and on February 13, the unfavorable committee report was taken up by the House and accepted, 25 thus killing Utah's ratification of the income tax amendment. Evidently, the committee report was included with many other reports and was passed during the press of session-end business, for the Democrats did not even make an issue of it. In fact they voted to defeat ratification, although at the time they did not know it. The Tribune recorded the incident. T h e usually alert and watchful Democratic minority membership of the house went to sleep yesterday, and permitted, without protest, the encompassing of the death of the income tax amendment ratification resolution. In fact, the Democrats voted for its death, manifestly not knowing what they were voting on. The matter came before the house on the adverse reports by the Committee on resolutions on Senator Smith's senate joint resolution No. 1 which put Utah's legislature in line with other states as ratifying the income tax amendment. T h e adverse report was adopted without a dissenting voice. Afterwards Democratic members declared they did not realize what they were voting on when they supported the motion to adopt the adverse report. Under a ruling of Speaker Seely made yesterday in another matter a reconsideration may be asked today and if the Democrats take advantage of the opportunity they, at least, may go on record as favoring the income tax. A resolution for ratification was introduced in the house early in the session. T h a t resolution was killed Monday on adverse report, the idea being that the matter would again come up when Senator Smith's resolution should be reported out. Yesterday Senator Smith's resolution was reported out and killed, thus ending income tax ratification unless later action is taken. 26 24
Salt Lake Tribune, February 4, 1913. House Journal, 1913, 317. 23 Salt Lake Tribune, February 14, 1913.
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No indication that the ratification resolution ever again came before the House is found in its records. By the time the House defeated the ratification, sufficient states had already ratified to put the amendment into effect; therefore, Utah's action had no effect on the amendment itself but does represent a revealing chapter in her legislative history. The aftermath of the defeat of the amendment by the Republicans of the House produced some interesting comments in the newspapers of the day. The following are typical. With respect to the rejection of the income tax amendment by Utah, that was an act of party perfidy that cannot possibly be excused. The State platform of the dominant party explicitly approved that amendment and pledged the party to its ratification; but when the Legislature met there was opposition, and the amendment was unwisely and treacherously rejected. Not one word can be said in favor of that rejection. It was a shameful betrayal of a pledge to the public, a repudiation of an election pledge which must react to the shame of all concerned in it. 27
Another paper observed: Pledges made by a political party in its platform are no less binding than the promises of an individual. The latter is honor bound to keep his faith with his fellows, to redeem his pledges . . . and this is true in the same and larger sense of a political party. No individual is greater than his party; when elected on a party platform the electors understand that the office-holder concurs in that platform and will be guided by it. I t is then no longer a matter of conscience or of individual opinion . . . . As to those whose consciences impel them to follow personal convictions rather than party pledges, one can only regret that those consciences had not asserted themselves before election in order that their possessors might have been square with the people. 28
And still another paper editorialized: The present State Legislature will be remembered as the worst pledge-breaking body that ever assembled in the State of Utah. Senators and Representatives seem to vie with each other in making excuses for disregarding their solemn promises to the public Shall boys and girls of Utah be brought u p to regard pledgebreaking as essential to political preferment and official success? 29
With such journalistic brickbats, Utah's experience with the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ended.
' Ibid. ' Salt Lake Herald-Republican, February 7, 1913. 'Progressive (Salt Lake City), February 8, 1913.
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A Friendly House by a Historic Road: The Hampton-Bigler Home BY ARNOLD R. S T A N D I N G
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r OR MORE THAN a hundred years, a stately, friendly, stone house has nestled at the bluffs near the banks of Bear River on Utah Highway 154 between Collinston and Fielding in Box Elder County. During this period this house has served both as a hotel and family home. The house and its locale are steeped in history. It is here the Bear River has a gravel bottom, making it a natural ford which was used by Indians far back in the unknown past. Trappers, explorers, emigrants, and freighters likewise used this ford. John C. Fremont very probably crossed the Bear River at this location on September 14, 1843, on his way to Fort Hall after his exploration of Great Salt Lake. Captain Samuel J. Hensley and his followers doubtless used this ford in 1848, and it was here that Captain Howard Stansbury crossed the Bear River with wagons when he traveled from Salt Lake City to Fort Hall in the fall of 1849. Many of the California gold rush emigrants who used the Salt Lake Cutoff also traveled this route. 1 At an early date Benjamin Y. Hampton 2 and William S. Godbe 3 saw the potential in this location and established a ferry in 1853. Toll charges were ten cents for a horse and twenty-five cents for a wagon. The ferry operated until 1859 when the partners constructed a bridge across the river. The bridge was rebuilt later and the original piers used in the construction. Records in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Archives indicate that Hampton received a charter to build a toll bridge across Bear River in 1866. The bridge became generally known as Hampton's Bridge, but is now known as the Bigler Bridge. Charges for its use, determined by the territorial legislature, were $3.00 for a wagon with two horses or oxen, loaded carts $2.00, and loaded pack horses $1.00. Mr. Standing, recently deceased, was a past-president of the Weber Valley Chapter of the Society and was a contributor to the Quarterly. 1 For a more complete discussion and references, see L. A. Fleming and A. R. Standing, "The Road to Fortune: The Salt Lake Cutoff," Utah Historical Quarterly 33 (Summer 1965) 147-72. ' 2 Utah: Her Cities, Towns and Resources... (Chicago, 1891-92) 106 states "B Y Hampton has been * resident of Salt Lake since 1855, and is one of the'best'known men in Utah. . . . he has, for the past twenty years, filled responsible official positions in the city and county to the satisfaction of large and exacting constituencies. He is a gentleman of superior business ability, and regarded as a very able man by the commercial community " W Uiam 8 3 3 1 9 0 C u l t u r e d L o n d o n famil . h n ' s lcaptain wi while ^atoll f 6 ^a1 boy ^and - ? ^ Sto° nmany ° f a parts y> boundtohimself to a t ship sailed of the world. Converted Mormonism W a y t 0 S a l t L a k e Ck 1 8 5 ^ a n d " & Pn°Hhe T»dUhA >'> w h e r e h e a r r i v ^ ™ 185? In t £ 1850 s and 1860 s Godbe established a prosperous commercial business. Later, he built a wholesale and retail drugstore m Salt Lake City, which he disposed of at a loss. G o d t e played an important role in the development of mining and smelting in Utah and the ssurround^ne s t atet o u r u and accumulated a modest fortune. During the 1860's Godbe's tav n\,™»„f r e°d h" ?mm SS e Vsta - ? e among Utah's wealthiest individuals. He WM also eader o t f f i ' -" t h Mormon church domination and control of the economic and n n l i H ^ l f , " ^ T ^ t a hf**™* Leonard J. Arrington, "Taxable Incomes in Utah ^862-187U ^ S # ? * • ^ n - S?e Utah H to X X I V (January, 1956), 21-47. ' ' " ^al Quarterly,
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T h e Hampton family lived in the stone house constructed near the bridge, and members of the Godbe family enjoyed visiting there occasionally. For a number of years, this family home also served as a hotel. In these early years thirty-five cents was paid for bed, supper, and breakfast. Nearby, a thatched-roof log house, west of the present stone one, was used for preparing and serving meals. On June 30, 1864, the Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company made its first stage run to Virginia City, Montana. It was later expanded to other Montana and Idaho points. There were stations every ten or twelve miles to change horses, with overnight rest stations approximately eighty miles apart. T h e house at Hampton's Bridge was the first overnight station north out of Salt Lake City. In 1866 Hampton and Godbe constructed the stone house near the bridge. Built of limestone obtained from a quarry located a short distance east of Collinston, the walls are about two feet thick. The hotel had eighteen rooms, including ten bedrooms on the second floor that were reached by a stairway from the entrance hall. On the first floor, at the front or north end of the house, were two large rooms used as a sitting room and a parlor. A large fireplace provided both physical and friendly warmth. At the back, or south end of the house, was a large kitchen. A dining room occupied the space between the kitchen and sitting room. There was an outside "necessary house" just east of the house. And in keeping with the grandeur of the establishment, it was carpeted, plastered, and wallpapered. Shortly after the house was built, a large barn was constructed across the road to the north, near the bank of the river. The frame work, held together with wooden pegs, was made of logs covered with board siding. It had a passageway in the center where the stagecoaches were sheltered. They were driven in through a large door on the west side of the barn. Pegs were available for hanging saddles and harnesses, and a safe was provided in an overhead office room for the protection of valuables, including gold carried from the mines at Virginia City, Montana. This barn is still standing. In the fall of 1875, a transaction changed the house to less of a business venture and to more of a home. James Standing and his wife Mary 4 4 James Standing, born in Lancashire, England, November 11, 1815, came with his parents to New York State when he was two years old. The family moved to Canada after a few years. James Standing became a member of the Latter-day Saints church in 1837, and with other Canadian converts, migrated to Far West, Missouri. He became closely associated with Joseph and Hyrum Smith and Brigham Young. On June 27, 1847, he married Mary Standing, a second cousin, who had emigrated from England in 1841. They immigrated to Utah by ox team in 1849, with their first child James. In Utah nine additional children were born.
. ODELL BIGLER
The celebration of the dedication of the "new" bridge over Bear River, July 4, 1892. This bridge has been known by various names â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Hampton Bridge, Bear River Bridge, and now the Bigler Bridge.
exchanged their property in Salt Lake City to Hampton and Godbe for their property at Hampton's Bridge. An indenture dated October 12, 1875, executed by Ben Hampton conveyed his share of the property by quitclaim deed to James Standing. An agreement dated October 30, 1875, between William S. Godbe (trustee) and James Standing, conveyed to Standing for the sum of $1.00, 584 acres of land, the "stone house known as Hampton's Station and the Bridge known as the Bear River Bridge together with all other improvements thereon." It is of interest that the agreement also conveyed two span of horses; two saddle horses; one Durham bull; one red Devon bull; all the cows, yearlings, and calves (approximately ninety-two head) "save and except three cows" lately owned by Hampton and Company; together with hogs, chickens, turkeys, geese, grain, potatoes, hay, farming implements, blacksmith and carpenter tools, wagon harness, and a half undivided interest in a threshing machine, and including articles of furniture in the stone dwelling house recently belonging to H a m p t o n and Co. and not to Ben Hampton individually. And lastly to give the deed and aforementioned together with possession of the above-named property as soon as the premises shall be vacated by Ben Hampton, its present occupant, say within 15 days.
A deed dated November 19, 1875, conveyed the Standing property in Salt Lake City to Annie Godbe for the sum of $13,000. James Standing and his family continued to provide meals and lodging for travelers, forage and shelter for their animals, and use of the
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bridge for a toll fee. T h e bridge was subsequently sold to Box Elder County in 1883. James and Mary Standing and their children were congenial folks, and the stone house soon became a social center for the scattered families who were beginning to settle the area. Both parents were musically inclined, James once played in the Nauvoo Brass Band and Mary had been a choir singer. They imparted their love and talent for music to their children. Several of the Standing children played musical instruments, including the organ, guitar, violin, and flute. The sounds of group singing and instrumental music frequently added to the richness of living in the Standing home. The home also served as a center for dancing and other social activities of the settlers for miles around. A son, Hyrum, planted a grove of trees where picnics were enjoyed by local families. It was also Hyrum who taught school in the west room on the first floor of the house. His brother Leonard operated a store and blacksmith shop in a building near the river, but across the road west from the barn. Both joy and sorrow were known by the Standing family while living in the big house. Tragedy came to the home, when a son, Joseph S. Standing, who was serving on a mission for the Latter-day Saints church in the Southern States, was killed in 1879. In contrast, July 4, 1892, was a festive occasion when a new bridge, built on the site of the old one, was dedicated. Recent photograph of the Bigler home. UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY BERNICE GIBBS ANDERSON COLLECTION
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Individuals gathered from far and near in buggies, wagons, and on horseback. They danced all night on the bridge to music furnished by a band situated at each end. In 1864, before the stone house was built, the young bride of Mark Bigler from Farmington, Asenath Patton, came to help cook and serve meals in the old log structure. Asenath Bigler's descendants have owned and occupied this property longer than any others. Mark Bigler, one of the first settlers in Collinston, settled there in 1862. One of his sons, Jacob A. Bigler, married Agnes Standing, the youngest child of James and Mary, on November 30, 1894. James Standing died January 16, 1886, and his wife Mary passed away May 4, 1894. Jacob and Agnes Bigler acquired the home and property from the Standing estate and continued to run the hotel. In 1904 a branch line of the railroad was constructed from Brigham City, Utah, to Malad, Idaho. This development eliminated much of the mail, stagecoach, and freighting business at the bridge, but some continued to pass that way. Many of these travelers sought accommodations at the stone house. However, with the growing use of the automobile, overnight guests tapered off until the Bigler family discontinued their hotel service. The home was remodeled somewhat in 1917 and 1918, and a spacious front porch with stately columns was added to the home. Agnes Bigler died January 26, 1938, and Jacob Bigler died April 30, 1952. Their son, L. Odell Bigler, and his wife, Juanita Loveland, obtained the home and property from the Bigler estate. They have lived in the home since this time. The rooms and shady lawns of the old home are cheered by the voices of the children of the fourth and fifth generations of the descendents of James and Mary Standing, as the beloved home serenely begins its second century. But how long the serenity will last is a matter of conjecture. Two threats menace the continued existence of the old home and barn. A modern highway is being surveyed which will run through the yard if not the house. And if the historic old building should survive this threat, it surely will be consigned to the waters of a reservoir which will rise behind a dam to be constructed on Bear River. Aware of these threats, an Historic American Building Survey team in the summer of 1967 measured, sketched, and photographed the old home. These records are filed with the Library of Congress and the Utah State Historical Society. And so if these threats materialize, the detailed plans and photographs of the Hampton-Bigler home are available to future generations.
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH H I G H SCHOOL SERVICES
The science fair has grown considerably since the first one held in 1955, at which time twelve students from four high schools presented papers. The fair pictured here is a recent one held in the Student Union at the University of Utah.
The Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters BY W I L L I A M H . B E H L E
0
influential and durable societies of learning in the state is the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. While most states and some large cities have either an academy of science or one of natural sciences, few have an organization which also encompasses the fields of arts and letters. The objectives of the Utah Academy are simply the promotion of research and creative endeavor in the sciences, arts, and letters and the diffusion of knowledge in these fields. These objectives are, or have been in the past, fulfilled through such varied activities as semi-annual meetings, publication of the proceedings, newsletters, a junior academy, and a visiting scientist and science reporting programs for high school students. In its activities the society transcends the lines between the various disciplines of knowledge. The Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters impinges on history in two ways — through its History Section and the fact that the Utah State Historical Society serves as the archives for the Academy. NE OF T H E MOST
D
uring the years 1906-08, advanced students of zoology and botany and staff members at the University of Utah held periodic meetings to discuss current problems and present papers and reviews. They called themselves the Biological Society. Dr. Chamberlin relates the events which led to the founding of the Utah Academy of Sciences. One topic discussed in connection with this society was the desirability of establishing a statewide association of U t a h scientists such as had been earlier contemplated in the Scientific Society of U t a h which had operated for several years in the late eighteen eighties . . . . The outcome was the initiation of steps that led to the organization of the U t a h Academy of Sciences. . . .a
The way in which the organization was actually launched is detailed in the first publication of the Utah Academy. An announcement was made before the general assembly of teachers at the Provo meeting of the U t a h Teachers' Association that all those interested in the formation of a Utah Academy of Science were requested to meet at 4 p.m., January 3, 1908, in Professor Hinckley's room, to take such action as seemed desirable. In accordance with this announcement, the following persons assembled: Dr. Ira D. Cardiff, University of UtahGeo. W. Bailey, Ogden High School; Dr. S. H. Goodwin, Procter [sic] Academy; A. O. Garrett, Salt Lake High School; E. M. Hall L D S University; R. S. Baker, Eureka High School; C. G. V a n Buren, B.Y.U.; at the S n i S y c ! f ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ J ^ ^ l ^ , 1 ^ ^ . °f ° — ' **** Ralph V. Chamberlin, Life Sciences at the Univrrtitv M TTt„u n„-i J J TT(Salt Lake City, 1950), 225. university of Utah, Background and History
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C. C. Spooner, Salt Lake High School; W. D. Neal, Salt Lake City; Miss Olive E. Peck, Mt. Pleasant; Junius Banks, Lehi High School; J. F. Rawson, Eureka High School and Fred Buss, B.Y.U. At this meeting it was decided to perfect the organization. A committee was appointed on membership, and another on constitution. T h e committees were instructed to report at a meeting to be called by the President pro tem. in Salt Lake City in April. Moved and carried that all present as well as any who should be present at the April meeting should be invited to enroll as charter members. 2
Further details of the initial meeting at Provo are given in the minutes of the Academy. A. O. Garrett was elected temporary chairman. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to organize an association which would give an impetus to scientific studies in the state and would bring the scientific men together. It was moved and carried that the organization be known as the Utah Academy of Sciences. Dr. Ira D. Cardiff was elected president by acclamation. George W. Bailey was unanimously elected secretary. A committee of three, consisting of A. O. Garrett, S. H. Goodwin, and R. S. Baker, was appointed by the president to draft a constitution. This committee was also given the responsibility of arranging for the first formal meeting of the Academy in Salt Lake City the following April. All scientists in the state were to be invited to the first Academy meeting. 3 The minutes also record a subsequent committee meeting held at the Wilson Hotel in Salt Lake City on February 22, 1908, for the organization of the Utah Academy of Sciences. It was just as though the earlier meeting at Provo had not been held or the action taken not binding. Present were Cardiff, Garrett, and Goodwin and in addition, E. D. Ball, W. C. Ebaugh, Robert Forrester, E. M. Hall, L. W. Hartman, and John Sundwall. This was more of a university group as compared with the other, which was made up essentially of high school teachers of science. Dr. Ira D. Cardiff was elected chairman. E. D. Ball was appointed secretary, pro tem. A constitution and bylaws were evidently drafted at this time and a committee of three, consisting of the president, Goodwin, and Garrett, was selected to arrange for the spring session.4 A third informal meeting was held in the parlor of the Commercial Club in Salt Lake on the evening of April 2, 1908, the day before the first annual meeting. Dr. Cardiff presided and Mr. Garrett was elected secretary pro tem. 2
Transactions of the Utah Academy of Sciences (Salt Lake City, 1918), I, 3. Utah Academy of Sciences, Minute Book (January 3, 1908-April 2, 1921) (Utah State Historical Society), 41. Much of the information for this article was secured from the minute books of the Academy on file at the Utah State Historical Society. 'Ibid., 25-26. 3
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The draft of the constitution and bylaws as formulated by the group at the February 22 meeting was read, slightly amended, and approved. It was decided that the amended draft should be submitted to the Academy for adoption. A committee of two (Cardiff and Sundwall) was selected to draw up a list of fellows and members. It was agreed that the order of business for the first session of the Academy should be the adoption of the constitution, followed by the submission of the list of fellows and members, and then the election of officers.5 The First Annual Meeting was convened at the Packard Library Auditorium on Friday, April 3, 1908.6 Presumably Dr. Cardiff presided as president pro tem. The minutes of the January 3 meeting at Provo and the special committee meeting of F e b r u a r y 22 were read and approved. The constitution and bylaws were read and adopted. The membership committee submitted a list of fifty-nine names. They were all elected to membership. Whether they had been contacted and signified their desire to join is not indicated, but this is unlikely in light of the action of the evening before when Cardiff and Sundwall were designated as a committee to draw up a list of prospective members. In accord with earlier sentiments, apparently any persons present whose names were not on the list were invited to enroll as members and presumably all those present affixed their names to the constitution. There are fifty-two signatures. These might be considered the charter members except that some evidently failed to pay their initiation fee and first year's dues. Some who signed the constitution were formally elected to membership several years later. One person, who was very active in getting the Academy started, eventually was stricken from the rolls for failure to pay any dues whatsoever. The charter members are indicated in the first published list of members. 7 The liberal policy of electing to membership everyone who expressed an interest by attending the First Annual Meeting was later abandoned as a policy of selectivity developed. The early open-door attitude was probably attributable to the zeal of getting the Academy underway, and may have been indirectly correlated with the later emphasis on designating certain members as fellows to distinguish those preeminent in science from those merely interested in science. At this First Annual Meeting, a committee on nominations for officers was appointed by the president, pro tem. The committee nomi' Ibid., 27-28. 0 Uah Academy, "Minutes, 1908-1935." ' Transactions, I, 7-8.
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nations were accepted by the assembly, and the following were elected: Dr. Ira D. Cardiff, University of Utah, president; Dr. John A. Widtsoe, Utah Agricultural College, first vice-president; Dr. S. H. Goodwin, Proctor Academy, second vice-president; Mr. A. O. Garrett, Salt Lake High School, secretary; Mr. E. M. Hall, Latter-day Saints University (present-day L.D.S. Business College), treasurer; and Dr. John Sundwall of the University of Utah, Dr. E. D. Ball of Utah Agricultural College, and Dr. W. C. Ebaugh of the University of Utah, councillors. In the initial enthusiasm of the group it was moved and carried that the council make arrangements for a summer session of the Academy to be held at one of the resorts or some other place of interest. Apparently there was no follow through on this. The second session of the First Annual Meeting was held at 2:00 P.M., Saturday, April 4 and closing session at 8:00 P.M. In addition to the business transacted, nine papers were presented at the three sessions. There was one paper in the field of chemistry, two in physics, and six in biology (two botany, two zoology, and two general). One paper was subsequently published in the Transactions and two in journals elsewhere. Beyond the usual items contained in the constitution and bylaws of the Academy, there were some significant features. While no bylaw expressly referred to publishing transactions, it was clearly indicated that the new society should have a medium of publication. Bylaw five stated that "the permanent secretary shall collect initiation fees, dues and other moneys for the Academy and shall have charge of the distribution, sale and exchange of the published transactions of the Academy, under such restrictions as might be imposed by the Council." 8 There was a requirement that at the expiration of his term of office the president deliver a public address on the evening of one of the days of the annual meeting. For most of the Academy's history this requirement has been fulfilled in terms of the spirit behind it, namely, the delivery of a scholarly address. Of late, however, the tradition seems to have fallen into disrepute, some of the addresses being merely perfunctory. As the Academy was originally set up only those designated fellows could hold office. Thus an inner circle had control of the Academy affairs. It was many years before a more liberal and democratic procedure came about. At a meeting of the council on April 3, 1920, Dr. Joseph Merrill moved that the council consider the matter of amending the constitution so that members 8
Ibid., I, 12. The constitution also appears in this volume.
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as well as fellows would be eligible to hold office. This was favorably acted upon. From the very first most of the business of the Academy was handled by the council. This body initially consisted of the past presidents, the president, the vice-presidents, the secretary, and three councillors-atlarge elected from the fellows of the Academy at the time of the election of officers. The council decided on the place and time of the annual meeting, determined broad outlines of the program, approved new members, designated fellows, and considered financial problems. Early they became concerned about publishing the proceedings of the gatherings, for at a meeting held on December 23, 1908, chaired by Dr. Widtsoe, a committee was designated to devise plans to introduce to the legislature to provide for this. A second committee was to publish the constitution and bylaws, send copies to each member, and prepare a circular letter to prospective members. At another meeting on December 29, 1909, a committee was appointed to investigate the methods employed by other academies to get their proceedings published. Much later, on February 24, 1913, yet another committee on legislation was appointed to attempt to secure state aid to publish the proceedings. This attempt to secure financial assistance from the state has been followed sporadically through the years. As late as 1934 the financial committee was instructed to meet with the governor and explore the possibility of working out a bill whereby the state legislature would finance the Academy. The amount sought was $2,500 annually. The perpetual need of funds has been largely because of modest dues assessed members as well as sparse membership. The founders of the Academy wrote a provision into me constitution that fellows could be elected by the council from the members upon satisfactory evidence of their having done original investigation. It was also stated that fellows who had removed from the state could be transferred to associate membership. Little time was lost in getting at the selection of fellows, for at a meeting of the council on April 9, 1909. twenty members were nominated for fellowship.0 Because Dr. Ira D. Cardiff, nominated for fellowship, had left the state, he was nominated to associate membership. This list was confirmed at the second session of the Second Annual Meeting on April 10, 1909. In subsequent years the John i Widtsoe.
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Albert O. Garrett helped draft the constitution of the Utah Academy of Sciences, served as its first secretary, and was elected president in 1912-13.
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Ira D. Cardiff, charter member and organizer of the Utah Academy of Sciences, served as the Academy's first president in 1908-09.
list of fellows was added to a few at a time. Then there was a long period of indifference toward fellows. Several were elected at the annual meeting on May 13, 1939. At a council meeting on May 4, 1940, the question arose whether there should be a limitation on the number of fellows. It was argued that unless there were some restrictions, eventually all members could become fellows. Apparently the problem was not resolved, and the committee on nominations was instructed to select fifteen more fellows. At a meeting of the council on October 25, 1941, a new method of selecting fellows was adopted. The proposal for a person to be made a fellow must be made in writing to the secretary and supported by five members. The secretary would present the proposal to the council, and if favorably acted upon the matter would be submitted to the membership at a general business meeting. Although this move accomplished the purpose of effectively limiting the number of fellows, at the same time it seemed to stifle all further interest in elevating members to fellows.
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In the initial years the activities of the Academy, except for the council meetings, centered almost entirely on the annual meeting held in April. For many years Salt Lake City was chosen for the gathering place presumably more because of its central location than because of any pervading influence of the University of Utah. The early annual meetings followed a set plan. There was a Friday evening session, with one or two papers either preceding or following the presidential address. On Saturday there were morning, afternoon, and sometimes evening sessions for the presentation of papers. The number of papers varied from nine to seventeen. The number of persons in attendance varied from twenty to thirty. As the Academy grew and more people presented papers, a Friday afternoon session was added. Some deviations from the normal pattern eventually occurred. At the Fifteenth Annual Meeting in 1922, no papers were presented because the American Association for the Advancement of Science was to hold its annual meeting in Salt Lake City, June 22-24, and the Academy planned to have a session for papers in conjunction with the AAAS. However a business session was held at which time fourteen members attended to elect officers, hear committee reports, and make plans for the forthcoming AAAS meeting. When in 1933 the AAAS again met in Salt Lake City on June 12-15, the entire annual meeting of the Academy was deferred from April to June so as to meet in conjunction with the larger society. This happened again in 1942. Once again on June 19-24, 1950, the Pacific Division met at the University of Utah. This same year the Utah Academy held its regular spring meeting at the same institution on April 28-29, and in addition, scheduled a session with the AAAS on June 21. However, only five papers were presented. When the AAAS met in Logan on June 16-20, 1958, the Utah Academy did not participate at all in the AAAS meeting. The AAAS met again at Logan June 24-29, 1968.
F
irst mention of resolutions in the minutes comes in connection with the Fourth Annual Convention on April 7-8, 1911, when Dr. Ball appointed a resolutions committee. The resolutions pertained to the usual proprieties of thanking sponsoring agencies, and then more cogently a stand was taken supporting the appropriation of money for the control and prevention of forest fires as well as the promotion and more economic use of government forests. A movement then current, to attempt to eradicate the alfalfa weevil, was endorsed. The group also favored appropriation of money for the purpose of eradicating noxious weeds from the
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state. Thus three practical problems were faced and sentiment favored the incipient beginnings of federal spending which today has reached astronomical sums. While emphasis on resolutions has vacillated through the years, generally the Academy has concerned itself with pertinent local and statewide problems and only occasionally those of national scope. In a patriotic gesture with the advent of World War I, the scientific services of the Academy and of its individual members were offered to the government for the duration of hostilities. At a later period, 1924, ways and means were considered of bringing the Academy in closer touch with problems of public concern. The idea was broached of selecting committees to conduct investigations and prepare reports for annual meetings at which time, after discussion, the Academy would presumably take a stand. In 1932-33 the Academy produced a series of half-hour radio programs over station KSL each Sunday morning. One series extended from May 1 to August 14, 1932, another from August 21 to November 6, 1932. This activity continued the following year. At a meeting of the council on November 18, 1933, the matter of a state museum of natural history was brought up for discussion. It was felt that the private Strevell Collection of geological and other objects, which was apparently available, could form the nucleus. Sentiment favored the establishment of such a museum, and a committee was appointed to investigate the feasibility of this. No reference has been found to any report, however, and no state museum immediately resulted.10 The Strevell Collection was in time given to the Salt Lake City schools. For a number of years it was housed in the Lafayette School but was eventually discontinued and most items were given to the University of Utah. An extensive venture of the Academy in public affairs occurred in 1945 when the cause of conservation was championed and legislation sponsored for a state department of conservation. The roots of the movement go back ten or more years before this time. As outlined by Walter 10 Not until 1963 did U t a h create a natural history museum and even then no funds were appropriated. Enabling legislation (Senate Bill 18) simply authorized the University of Utah to establish a state museum of natural history and to receive gifts, contributions and donations of all kinds, including tangible objects and specimens for the development of displays in the museum. The University Board of Regents has allocated considerable space in the Thomas Library building for the museum, but funding the enterprise is critical and for the moment must come from federal grants and private sources. A non-profit corporation, Museum Associates, has been chartered by museum supporters for raising funds. In the meantime plans have been drawn and many exhibits prepared under the direction of Donald V. Hague, acting director, in anticipation of the move into the building in the fall of 1968. The new museum will incorporate the greater part of the University's former anthropology, geology, and zoology museums.
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P. Cottam 1 1 in the early 1930's, a conservation association was organized in the state known as the Utah Natural Resources Association. The membership consisted of specialists in all fields of natural science as well as representatives from the social sciences. Meetings were held regularly for several years, and many facts were assembled concerning the state's natural resources. The group eventually recommended that a state department of conservation be established to draw together and coordinate the divergent activities of the various state agencies dealing with natural resources. This recommendation was presented to Governor Henry Blood, who appointed a State Planning Board on Conservation. This group failed in its functions chiefly through lack of authority to enforce its plans, and little positive action resulted. 12 The Academy came into the picture gradually through association with this conservation society. Seemingly the first involvement was a joint Friday evening general session with the Utah Natural Resources Association at the 1935 annual Academy meeting. For the following fall meeting in 1936 the theme of the Academy meeting was "State Planning in Utah." The next step was when two prominent members of the Academy, who were also among the leaders of the Utah Natural Resources Association, Walter P. Cottam and the late Angus M. Woodbury (the latter being secretary of the Utah N a t u r a l Resources Association), expressed the opinion at a meeting of the council, that the Academy should carry forward the work of conservation in the state. Justification for supporting the conservation movement was that the Academy was a non-partisan society, not supported by public funds, and not seeking any private or group benefits apart from those which would accrue to all the people of the state from the more efficient use of natural resources. Their suggestion was favorably received, and Cottam and Woodbury were authorized to develop a program. One immediate result was a symposium at the 1937 spring annual meeting on the proper utilization and protection of the natural resources of Utah. At the fall meeting in 1937 the Friday evening public session was devoted to the topic "How Can We Conserve the Human Resources of Utah?" The 1944 fall meeting of the Academy held another symposium on conservation in Utah, this time by the Biological Sciences Sections, meet" Walter P. Cottam, "General Plan for Conservation," Proceedings of the Utah Academv of Sciences, Arts and Letters (Salt Lake City, 1947-1948), XXV, 69-72 Academy " A s with the museum of natural history, the state'legislature finally got around to enacting into law some of the proposals relating to a department" of natural reLfrces Following up on recommendations of the Little Hoover Commission, the legislature in 1967 (Senate BHl 222) aI he I e 930\ P a r t m £ n t ° f N a t U m l R e S ° U r C e S ' a l t h ° U g h n o t entMy ° " S ^ e ines proposed in
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ing jointly. According to Cottam 1 3 at the close of this symposium a resolution was passed asking the president of the Academy to appoint a conservation committee from the membership, the duties of which would be to survey ways and means of attacking some of the urgent conservation problems confronting the state. It was assumed that the ultimate objective of the committee would be to secure some legislation. Dr. Cottam served as president of the Academy in 1944-45, and so it fell his lot to appoint the committee. Dr. Woodbury was asked to serve; other members were Vasco Tanner, George Hansen, and Ross Hardy. At the first meeting of the committee, Dr. Woodbury reviewed the earlier action of the old Utah Natural Resources Association and suggested a revival of the attempt to get a state department of conservation. The committee felt that the problems were too great and the time too short for any legislative action in 1945, but Dr. Woodbury's drive, together with interest by legislators after the state legislature convened, led to the drawing up and introduction of a bill (House Bill 219) that proposed the creation of a department of conservation. Continuing the story in Dr. Cottam's words: The bill experienced little opposition until it was favorably reported out of committee for consideration on the house floor. Overnight not fewer than 60 telegrams flooded the house from sportsmen's organizations all over the state and our bill came to a sudden if not tragic demise. It died aborning, for in the face of such sudden and unexplained opposition from a segment of our society supposedly dedicated to the ideals of conservation, we decided to withdraw the bill before its final consideration, with the hope that a new one at some future time might be conceived and nurtured under more favorable circumstances. 14
The conservation committee continued its activities. In 1946 Dr. Ross Hardy succeeded Dr. Woodbury as chairman. A major effort was a symposium at the annual spring meeting of 1948 on "Conservation of Natural Resources in Utah." Twenty people participated and considered virtually every aspect of the subject. The Academy's general plan for conservation was reviewed and the economics assessed; the chairman of the committee discussed the program for action; and the symposium was published 15 and widely distributed. However, as far as this writer has been able to ascertain no further bills were introduced, and the Academy's interest in the matter waned. Indeed it appears that even 13
W. P. Cottam, "Resource Problems of Utah," Proceedings of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters (Salt Lake City, 1944-45), XXII, 53-64. M Cottam, "Plan for Conservation," Proceedings, XXV, 70. " T h e articles appear under the general heading "Symposium: Conservation of Natural Resources," in Proceedings, XXV, 5â&#x20AC;&#x201D;77.
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resolutions have lost their appeal and are seldom considered. With a crowded schedule at the annual business meeting, there is scarcely time to discuss and act upon controversial matters, especially since in recent years the spring and fall meetings have been reduced to a half-day Friday afternoon session for papers followed by an evening banquet and program.
I
n scrutinizing the early programs a few items are of special interest. The Second Annual Meeting on April 9-10, 1909, was called the "Darwin Centennial Meeting" (actually the semi-centennial) commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his famous book on the origin of species which was published in 1859. A paper on "Darwin the M a n " was given by W. W. Henderson, one on "Factors in Zoological Evolution," by John Sundwall, and one on "Factors in Botanical Evolution," by C. T. Vorhies. The Third Annual Meeting in 1910 featured the first presidential address by President Dr. W. C. Ebaugh. The title is not indicated. At the second session on Saturday morning there were, among others, three papers on the animals, plants, and water of Great Salt Lake suggesting a symposium although it was not so labeled. At the Thirteenth Meeting in 1920 the Friday evening session featured a symposium of several papers on the "Constitution of Matter" and the presidential address was part of this. The 1920 meeting also featured the first luncheon meeting, complimentary to members through the courtesy of the University of Utah. President John A. Widtsoe of the University of Utah gave an address at this time. The Fourteenth Annual Meeting of 1921 followed the same plan. The symposium was on "Forest Conservation in Utah." The president at the time was C. F. Korstian of the U.S. Forest Service, and his presidential address was part of the symposium. A quasi-symposium occurred the following day when seven papers were given by mines and mineral industry personnel on oil shale and allied topics. At the Sixteenth Annual Meeting, held at the University of Utah April 6-7, 1923, a "Pasteur Symposium" was held commemorating the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Pasteur. An interesting debate occurred at the Eighteenth Annual Meeting April 3-4, 1925, which drew a little heat. Dr. Willard Gardner of Utah Agricultural College presented a paper entitled "Secular Trend in Precipitation D a t a " in which he stated that the trend of precipitation in the West was persistently upward while that of the eastern portion of the United States was as persistently downward. He stated that in the course of about one-hundred
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years the two would meet. In the discussion following the paper, J. Cecil Alter of the U.S. Weather Bureau and for many years editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly, took exception to Gardner's statement. He contended that no such reliance could be placed upon the data obtained from die records of the Weather Bureau and that when taken over long periods of time the data showed little or no tendency either to continue in a definite direction or to become periodic. Neither was willing to concede to the other's point-of-view. Finally, Alter requested that there be written in the records of the Academy his opinion that precipitation in the West was not permanently increasing nor was that of die East decreasing indefinitely. Thus time will tell who was right. From time to time the Great Salt Lake received further attention. At the fall meeting of 1932. three papers were presented on the evaporation, hydrology, and bird rookeries of the lake. At the meetings of June 12-15. 1933. in conjunction with the Pacific Division of the AAAS, a divisional symposium of six papers was held on scientific problems of die lake, plus another separate paper, a moving picture on the bird life, and an excursion to Bird (Hat) Island. At the spring meeting in 1960 an evening symposium was held on many features of the lake. Not often, but occasionally, social events were held in connection widi the annual meetings. On May 22, 1936. at the University of Utah, a biologist dinner preceded die general session, and following the general session an Academy dance was held, courtesy of the Music Department. At the 1940 annual meeting, again at the University of Utah, a social gathering was held just before die annual banquet. For a time general themes were selected appropriate to the place of die meeting and the host institution. For instance at the fall meeting in 1937. held at Weber College. Ogden, die Friday evening banquet featured a discussion on the status of sciences, arts, and letters in Ogden. For the annual meeting in 1938. both President George Thomas of the University of Utah and President E. G. Peterson of L^tah State Agricultural College offered to serve as host institution to the Academy. Logan was selected because of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the College, and the theme of the Academy meeting was pertinent to the College's anniversary-. At the fall meeting at Brigham Young University in 1938. the banquet program featured Utah Valley artists. At a general meeting following, there was a memorial centered on die life interests of Professor Harrison R. Merrill, who died on August 20. 1938. A souvenir program was distributed at the banquet.
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As noted, at the initial meeting of the Academy it was suggested that excursions should be made. While there was no immediate follow-up, the idea lay dormant and then germinated when a committee was eventually appointed on convention trips. At the business session of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting in 1922, the chairman of the committee, Richard R. Lyman, suggested a number of drives and excursions suitable for afterconvention trips. This stimulated action, for in connection with the fall meeting of 1922 a post-session excursion up Logan Canyon was scheduled. In 1923 at the fall meeting held at Brigham Young University there was an excursion to Timpanogos Cave in American Fork Canyon. It appears from the incomplete record that the idea again became dormant, but was revived at the fall meeting of 1931 held at Ogden. A pre-convention Friday afternoon field trip was conducted to the newly completed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge west of Brigham City. About the only vestige of this type of activity today is found occasionally in the Geology Section of the Academy meeting in conjunction with the Geological Society of Utah. The program features an annual field trip. 16 At the fall meetings of the Academy for 1939 held at Ogden, the geology and history groups held a combined trip to visit Miles Goodyear's cabin and Devils Gate at the mouth of Weber Canyon.
A A * s the Academy grew, there was greater diversification of interests. At a general meeting on April 3, 1920, Dr. E. E. Ericksen suggested that the scope of the Academy be broadened to include papers on topics in the social sciences, pedogogy, and history and that the program be divided into appropriate sections. The matter was referred to the council. Apparently the idea was not well received for many more years elapsed before formal action was taken to expand the Academy as well as change its name and structure. In the meantime attempts of other groups to associate with the Academy of Sciences were evident. Milton Bennion, dean of the State College of Education at the University of Utah, suggested that the Friday evening session of the annual meeting to be held April 8-9, 1927, be devoted to a symposium on the subject "Prob,0 The first annual geological hike was initiated by Stewart Williams at the 1938 annual meeting of the Academy held at Logan. This was in connection with the First Annual Field Conference of Utah Geologists which was sponsored by the geologists of the Physical Sciences Division ot the Academy.
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lems of College Teaching." One can infer that there was considerable opposition to this for the request was later withdrawn. At the council meeting on April 2, 1921, it was decided to hold an additional meeting of the Academy each year, preferably in the fall, since the annual meeting was held in the spring. Accordingly the first fall meeting was held at Ogden on November 25, 1921. Thirteen papers were given in two sessions. The second fall convention was held at LTtah State Agricultural College October 27-28, 1922. From these beginnings it became a regular feature to have two meetings per year. The annual meeting continued for several more years in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah while the fall meetings were held at either the Agricultural College at Logan, Brigham Young University at Provo, or Weber College in Ogden. When semi-annual meetings were established, the program was arranged so that the Friday evening meeting would be semipopular and of general appeal. The other sessions were largely technical. In 1938 the tradition of the annual meeting at the University of Utah was broken, and a new procedure started of regular rotation of the annual meeting between the several universities and colleges of the state. Ultimately the determining factor of where the annual meeting was held became the institutional affiliation of the president of the Academy. This led to choosing the president-elect, with a few exceptions, from the institution where the meeting would take place. Some years after the original Ericksen proposal, the idea of expanding the Academy was again broached. At the Nineteenth Annual Meeting April 3, 1926, Dean Milton Bennion asked if it were not possible to form separate divisions of the Academy, one for the natural sciences and another for the humanities. In the ensuing discussion the concensus was that the attendance would not justify this. One concession was made, however, that the papers be grouped according to different fields of interest. Dean Bennion was evidently persistent, for at the Twentieth Annual Meeting six papers in the field of education were given at the Friday evening session. At the subsequent fall meeting the number of papers was about normal â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the usual number being about thirty. But at the Twenty-First Annual Meeting in 1928, the total number of papers given dropped to eight. Perhaps this was a reaction to education infiltrating a meeting of an Academy of Sciences! The next development, according to the minutes of the council meeting on June 11, 1933, was when the general secretary, Yasco M. Tanner, proposed that the activities of the Academy be carried on under the leadership of the chairmen of several sections, namely, the Biological
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Sciences, Physical Sciences, Applied Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Letters. A committee of two consisting of L. L. Daines and Lowery Nelson was selected to consider the matter further and make recommendations. They reported favorably suggesting at the same time the addition of "Arts and Letters" to the title of the society. Their rationale was that in a small state such as Utah, with potential membership in a scientific body being necessarily restricted and with limitations on resources particularly for research and publication, it was better to have one strong, diversified, statewide organization than numerous specialized societies. Accordingly in 1934 at the annual meeting, the name of the Utah Academy of Sciences was formally changed to the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Only four divisions were established, however. They were the Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Letters. Chairmen were chosen by the council to head each of the divisions to serve indefinite terms. Probably because of this drastic change and the necessity of strong leadership to get the new organization underway, all of the officers of the preceding year were re-elected. This is the only time in the history of the Academy that this has been done. Despite this reorganization the membership only increased from 125 to 150. The council continued to consist of the officers and three additional members. The division chairmen selected by the council were not necessarily members of the council. In 1939-40 a change was made whereby the division chairmen were elected by the membership rather than appointed. Finally in 1945 constitutional amendments were passed making the divisional chairmen members of the council, each to serve two years. They were to have staggered terms, two being elected each year. A division could have one or more sections. The council representative for the division was empowered to appoint section chairmen either for the year or for each meeting. About this time another move was made that strengthened the leadership of the Academy. The position of vice-president, who is elected by the membership, was changed, and he became not only the vice-president but the president-elect. This gave him a year in which to become oriented and plan his program. Furthermore, he remained on the council for one more year as immediate past-president to give the Academy the benefit of his experience. Other changes effected were for the secretarytreasurer to be selected by the council for a five-year term. These two moves made for continuity of leadership. Having made the step of expanding the Academy, for the next few years the council wrestled with the twin problems of bringing the new
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groups into active participation in the Academy affairs and of having programs that would appeal to the varied interests now represented. At a meeting of the council on November 18, 1933, it was decided that at the next annual meeting, dramatic art and musical numbers should be featured in order to draw Utah artists into the arts and letters portions of the Academy. At another meeting on March 24, 1934, close cooperation was urged with the Utah Educational Association. Another suggestion was that a general topic should be selected on which to build a program. The theme was to be announced early so that the divisional chairmen could arrange a suitable program. Cooperation was urged between divisions. The two divisions that have worked together most closely throughout the years are the Social Sciences and Arts and Letters. With grants from the National Science Foundation involving sizeable sums, it was felt desirable to incorporate the Academy. This was accomplished with the help of Calvin A. Behle, Salt Lake attorney, at the annual business meeting on April 16, 1960. The officers at that time were the incorporators. The structure of the Academy was preserved except that an additional member was added to the council, a member-at-large to be elected by the membership. While the presidents 17 have provided leadership during their yearly terms of office, much of the success of the society has been due to the dedicated service of those holding the office of secretary-treasurer. 18 Their significant role has been touched on by Tanner. 19
R
ecognition of outstanding Utah scholars and leaders in the sciences and arts and letters was instituted in 1940. Two Distinguished Service Awards are given, one for science and one for arts and letters. Recipients are individuals closely connected with intellectual development in Utah. They need not be members of the Academy, but members are given preferential consideration. They need not reside within the state at the time the award is made. Tradition has resulted in a rotational scheme whereby one year the award is made in the physical sciences and the next year in the biological sciences. Similarly the other award alternates between the social sciences and the humanities. Selections are made by a committee of five with staggered terms of five years each. During his last year the 17
01 tllG
Current officers and a cumulative list of past-presidents are given in each yearly volume iTOCBCdtTISS
" T h e secretary-treasurers are in sequence A. O. Garrett, E . G . Titus, C Arthur Smith J. Cecil Alter Vasco M. Tanner, Thomas C. Adams, I. Owen Horsfall, Gladys Harrison, Bnant Jacobs, Kent McKnight, Wilmer Tanner, and Max Carruth. 19 Vasco M. Tanner, "Historical Resume," in Margaret Wood Schell comp Cumulative Index, 1908-1958, Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters (Salt Lake City, 19b4), v-vi.
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person retiring from the committee serves as chairman. Prospective recipients may be submitted by the membership but most nominations arise within the committee. The final selections of the committee must be approved by the council. The two awards each year are presented at the luncheon or banquet at the annual meeting. A biographical sketch detailing the accomplishments of the recipient is read at the time of presentation of the award. The accounts and pictures of the recipients are published subsequently in the Proceedings.20 Upon a few occasions awards have been made posthumously. In 1965 another type of award was instituted, a Meritorious Teaching Award. This award is presented annually to two high school teachers in the same general fields in which the Distinguished Service Awards are made. In 1967 three additional awards were announced. The Willard Gardner Prize in the natural sciences was made possible by an endowment fund created by the family of Willard and Viola Hale Gardner. The Charles Redd Prize in the humanities and social studies is supported from an endowment fund established by the family of Charles and Annaley Naegley Redd. These prizes are to be awarded in recognition of some significant contribution in the sciences, or for the betterment of mankind, within the State of Utah during the five years preceding the award. The winners are chosen by a committee appointed by the officers of the Academy. The two awards are made alternately at such times as the committee identifies a contribution of merit and as the amount of the endowment fund permits disbursement of an amount in excess of $1,500. It is hoped that one award can be made annually. The third of these new awards is the recently instituted Academy Proceedings Award, to be given annually for the best paper contributed to the Proceedings during the academic year. This award is for not less than $500.00 and was also made possible through an endowment from the Charles and Annaley Naegley Redd family.
s
erving as sort of a "super academy" of nationwide scope is the American Association for the Advancement of Science which was founded in 1848. State academies of science are invited to affiliate with the AAAS in which case they have representation on the council. In addition they may appoint a delegate to the Academy conference held each year. A small amount of the annual dues of each AAAS member in a state is routed back to state academies for grants to students for research proj!0
A cumulative list of recipients is included each year in the Proceedings.
Utah Academy
of Sciences, Arts and Letters
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ects. The AAAS has regional divisions with which the state academies also affiliate for regional meetings. The Utah Academy affiliated early in its existence with the Pacific Division of the AAAS and much later with the national organization. Notice of the latter move together with a brief history of the Utah Academy was presented by Tanner. 21 The Pacific Division of the AAAS expressed a desire to meet in Salt Lake City on June 22-24, 1922. After much debate the council decided that the Academy would accept the responsibility and so notified the AAAS and the University of Utah, the host institution and headquarters for the sessions. T h e Pacific Division of the AAAS decided to meet in Salt Lake City again in 1933. While the council decided not to assume prime responsibility for the meetings this time as it had done in 1922, it did actively participate in the program. The meetings were again held at the University of Utah. It was at this time that the Academy sponsored the symposium on "Scientific Problems of Great Salt Lake." For the third time the Pacific Division of the AAAS approached the Utah Academy about holding its annual meeting in Utah, suggesting June of 1942, for the Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting. The Academy decided to accept responsibility to the extent that it would act as a coordinating agency between the Pacific Division and local cooperating groups. It was further decided that it would be most appropriate for the meetings to be held at the University of Utah. The theme selected for a symposium at the general divisional meeting was "The Great Basin, with Emphasis on Glacial and Postglacial Times." Outstanding scientists participated. 22 The council decided to postpone the annual meeting of the Utah Academy for 1942 so as to meet with the AAAS. Accordingly on Monday evening June 15, the Academy held a general session for election of officers, election of members and fellows, and presentation of Academy awards, and the president's address by Reed W. Bailey. At the conclusion of this, several section meetings were held where numerous papers were given. In 1950 the Utah Academy held its regular spring meeting in April but scheduled an additional session in conjunction with the AAAS which met at the University of Utah in mid-June. In 1958 the Pacific Division of the AAAS met again in Utah, but this time at Logan where Utah State University was the host institution. Apparently the Utah Academy had little to do with the planning and did 21
Vasco Tanner, "The Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters," Science, 119 (January 22, 1954), 3A. ^ â&#x20AC;&#x17E; 22 Eliot Blackwelder, Carl L. Hubbs, Robert R. Miller, and Ernst Antevs, The Great Basin, With Emphasis on Glacial and Postglacial Times (Salt Lake City, 1948).
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not even conduct a meeting of its own in conjunction with the larger meetings. The Academy did, however, serve as cosponsor with the Pacific Division of the divisional symposium held at the initial general session on Monday evening June 16. The symposium was on the "Cenozoic History of the Western United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Geomorphic, Climatic, Geological." Ten years later, the Pacific Division of the AAAS held its Forty-Ninth Annual Meeting at Utah State University, Logan, June 24-29, 1968, but as before the Utah Academy did not participate actively.
T
he idea of sponsoring a junior academy was first advanced by the immediate past-president, Bertrand F. Harrison, at a meeting of the council in 1954. His suggestion was considered at length, favorably acted upon, and machinery set in motion under the president, Lincoln Ellison. It was the general feeling that sponsorship of a junior academy would be an effective way of furthering the Academy's objectives. It was decided to restrict it, at least initially, to a junior academy of science. In addition to the real need to stimulate interest in science among students of high school age, it was felt that several phases of arts and letters were already receiving attention locally by high schools through such activities as speech contests and music festivals. T o expedite this new program, a junior academy committee was selected and Ellison agreed to serve as chairman. An initial meeting for both teachers and students was arranged at Utah State Agricultural College on February 16, 1955, to discuss the formation of the Junior Academy of Sciences. Plans were made for student participation in the spring meeting of the Utah Academy. Accordingly, at the annual meeting on May 13, twelve students from four high schools presented papers. Some were accompanied by demonstrations. This was in effect the first meeting of the Junior Academy. At the fall meeting of the Academy on November 19, 1955, at the University of Utah, a symposium was held on "How a Junior Academy Could Help the Teaching of Science in Secondary Schools." The second meeting of the Junior Academy was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Utah Academy at Brigham Young University on May 12, 1956. This was in the nature of a science fair organized by Bertrand F. Harrison. The third Junior Academy meeting was held at the time of the annual meeting of the Academy on May 4, 1957, at the University of Utah. Co-chairmen were Bertrand F. Harrison and Orson Whitney Young. Thirty-five students from high schools throughout the state presented projects. During the spring of 1957, Dr. I. Owen Horsfall
Utah Academy
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suggested that a statewide mathematics contest might well be sponsored by the Junior Academy and this activity was launched under the chairmanship of Clarence R. Wylie, Jr., of the University of Utah. Competing initially were 149 students. Another move was to allocate funds received from the AAAS to meritorious students to assist them in science research projects. At the business meeting of the Academy held on November 9, 1957, a constitutional amendment was passed creating the Junior Academy as a fifth division of the Utah Academy, with its appointed chairman to be a member of the council. Lincoln Ellison was selected as division chairman. Science fairs continued to be the most popular activity and indeed dominated the Junior Academy for many years. In 1958 a music composition competition was started as an annual event. In 1960 the Junior Academy co-sponsored, with the Granite School District, an exhibition of the art work of high school students. Subsequent to an application made in 1959, the following year a sizeable grant was made to the Utah Academy by the National Science Foundation for a visiting scientist program. This was renewed each year through 1967. Under the direction of O. Whitney Young, an excellent program developed of sending specialists, as representatives of the Academy, to high schools throughout the state to stimulate interest in the various branches of science. In 1966 Dr. Young was succeeded by Lane A. Compton as director of the program. Although science reporting antedated the science fair by a year, it did not receive a great deal of attention until 1965 when a second type of grant from the National Science Foundation was obtained to enhance this aspect of science training and encourage individual research by high school students under the guidance of specialists. Director of this program was also Dr. Compton. This program is still in operation at the date of this writing.
T
he strength of a scientific society is reflected largely in its publications and it is to the credit of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters that it has a journal of fairly long duration and continuity. However, the Proceedings of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters has not realized its full potential; it has been a constant struggle to keep the publication alive, let alone expand it. The principal trouble has been lack of adequate finances. As of the date of this writing, forty-four volumes have appeared together with a Cumulative Index through Volume XXXV.
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Quarterly
Policy on publications has vascillated through the years. Soon after the expansion of the Academy to include arts and letters as well as science, a proposal came to the council at its meeting in 1933, that the Academy publish an Anthology of Utah Verse. It was decided to make a contribution to the extent of $100.00. A second venture of this sort came in 1939 when the council authorized publication of a memorial volume of poems and articles by Harrison R. Merrill entitled Utah Sings. This had been prepared in collaboration with Elsie Talmage Brandley. The work met with such favorable response that a second edition was published. About 1939 two publications per year were authorized. One was to be the annual Proceedings and in addition one or more mimeographed publications. Precisely what resulted in the last regard is obscure but two items have come to the writer's attention. Neither bears a date of issue or any identification of miscellaneous papers. One was a report by the late Elmer R. Smith on the Negro in Utah. The other is a humanities symposium. In recent years other miscellaneous publications have appeared. The symposium on "Conservation of Natural Resources in Utah," presented at the spring meeting in 1948, was reprinted and issued as a separate publication. To commemorate the semi-centennial anniversary of the Academy there was published in 1958 a booklet entitled Fifty Years of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. This was prepared under the direction of I. O. Horsfall. It contains some history
The first published volume of the Utah Academy of Sciences entitled Transactions, and a recent volume of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters' Proceedings.
Utah Academy
of Sciences, Arts and Letters
261
of the Academy but is devoted in large part to Junior Academy activities and the program of the Fiftieth Anniversary Meeting. In 1940 the Academy published a Newsletter but it was allowed to lapse. It was revived in 1958, and has continued to date. For awhile it was an interim Newsletter a p p e a r i n g sometime during the summer between spring and fall meetings but of late it has been appearing in March and October to announce the spring and fall meetings. Council activities, news items, committee activities, and other items are also reported.
A
number of independent societies find it convenient to meet in connection with the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and coordinate their activities with those of the appropriate section. Perhaps the closest working relationship was that of the Geological Society of Utah and the Geology Section of the Physical and Earth Sciences and Mathematics Division of the Academy. For many years the president of the Geological Society served as chairman of the Geology Section and the meetings of the two organizations were as one. The Utah Library Association meets regularly as a section of the Arts and Letters Division. The Archaeological Society of Utah and the Utah Genetics Society occasionally meet in conjunction with the Utah Academy.
F
_ rom this historical resume it is evident that the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters has long been and continues to be an important factor in the intellectual life of the state. The Academy is somewhat unique in that its organization encompasses the arts and letters in addition to science. This feature at once constitutes both the strength and weakness of the society. Its strength is that it brings together scholars from all educational institutions and disciplines in the state. Furthermore it effects a liaison between scientists in academic circles and industry. The tradition of rotating meeting places and officers from different fields and institutions transcends institutional rivalries. The weakness is that with such a diffuse coverage there is by and large no great loyalty engendered. This statement must be qualified, however, for there is more interest in the Academy in some areas than others. For instance, with the sciences, the biological scientists have from the very beginning constituted the backbone of the organization. The geologists have been active supporters through the years. The physicists and chemists in con-
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trast have afforded comparatively poor support until late years. Except for one brief period those in the medical sciences have not been active in Academy affairs. This apathy may be not so much a mark of failure of the Utah Academy as it is a sign of the times, for it conforms to the pattern of academies elsewhere in the country. The probable explanation is that this is a day of specialization. There are hundreds of professional societies, each holding annual meetings, publishing journals, and drawing the primary loyalties of specialists in the field. Furthermore this is a day of easy and rapid travel with funds available to attend meetings afar. Consequently the state academy is regarded in many circles merely as a place for graduate students to gain experience in presenting papers. Some go so far as to argue that the day of the state academy is over; that little worthwhile is accomplished at this level. The other side of the argument is that specialization has proceeded so far that it is now more desirable than ever before, that people in different disciplines associate with and communicate with their colleagues in other fields and thereby broaden their horizons and forge common goals. The Utah Academy seems to have m a i n t a i n e d its m o m e n t u m through the years fairly well, indeed better in the writer's opinion than most academies. With dedicated leadership and a dynamic program the Academy will doubtless continue to grow. In its second fifty years there should be far greater strides than during the first half century of activities. There is much solid ground of accomplishment, tradition, and effective organization to build on.
Hatchtown
Dam shortly
after it
broke.
EFFEL RIGGS
The Failure of the Hatchtown Dam. 1914 BY W I L L I A M M . T I M M I N S
T
failed on May 25, 1914, at about 8:00 P.M. and flooded the Sevier Valley as far down river as Junction in Piute County. HE DAM AT H A T C H , U T A H ,
Mr. Timmins is an assistant to the vice-president of Community and Economic Development at the University of Utah.
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Utah Historical Quarterly
The breaking of the dam created horrendous headlines. The Deseret Evening News for Tuesday, May 26, 1914, included the headlines, "Town Under Water When Dam Lets Go" "Wall of water released thirty feet high" "Loss estimated at $100,000." The Panguitch Progress for May 29, 1914, estimated the damages at half a million dollars! A local citizen recalled her personal experience in the following words. I recall well the breaking of the Hatchtown Dam, which occurred on the 25th day of May 1914. It is common knowledge that a woman fixes the history of things by relating to dates connected with her own children â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as is the case with me in this instance. My husband Sam and I were living on our homestead, some five miles east of town. We owned a little log house (one moved in by the men when the town was settled 1903^1) located on the southeast corner lot of town and quite near the river. Most of our belongings which we had collected during our four years of marriage were in the house, even the layette prepared for our second child who was expected early the following month. A day or so before the breaking of the dam I had taken all the items from the trunk and checked to see if all were in readiness. I was about to leave them on the bed but was prompted to place them back in the trunk, which I did, and we then went back to the homestead. The day the dam went out, Alexander Wiley Huntington (Uncle Dimic as everyone called him) who was watchman at the dam, phoned town every half hour or so, and made a report of the weakening condition of the dam. All afternoon my motiier-in-law kept at her boys to go remove our things from the house. Will would say, "Mother I will have plenty of time even after the water lets loose to get everything out. Don't worry." Around 4:30 p.m. she persuaded him to go and he got the larger, most needed items. When the message came, "She's gone," it was just nine minutes until the water front viciously roaring along, hit that little house and Grandma said it vanished like salt in hot water. T h e windows of the building were two sashes each of 8 x 1 0 panes. After the water subsided, boys carried many of the sashes to us, some with not even a cracked glass. Many empty fruit jars were also salvaged with only a little mud in the bottoms, showing they had ridden safely on the surface of the angry waters. In the house were a dozen or so balls of sewn rug rags. Those balls were unwound and wrapped around about and through the willow trees nearby. There were many little keepsakes and seemingly precious things that were carried away. But it could have been much worse; say, to have had the stork arrive and to have had no clothes for the baby. We could only count our blessings. My little brother-in-law, Ernest, was about ten years old at the time and he was much concerned about the breaking of the dam. When he heard them say the water was coming, he picked u p the large family bread
Hatchtown
Dam
265
box and started for the hills. H e said, "I didn't want to drown, and I wasn't going to starve." 1
T h e local paper indicated that the dam broke about eight o'clock in the evening and that the wall of water reached the flour mill down the river at Panguitch about ten o'clock. The highway bridge over the river below Hatch was swept away "as if it were made of straws instead of heavy timbers." T h e newspaper related how the bridge "was chained to [trees to] hold to it; but trees, chains and all were swept away instantly by the ten foot wall of water then went on sweeping destruction and ruin down the Sevier Valley and to farmers beside the Sevier river." 2 Other key bridges were also washed away by the flood. The Deseret Evening News report for May 26 stated that Circleville was deserted. "Main Street is now a raging river. The people here worked all night getting onto higher ground with family and household goods and their stock. T h e damage is impossible to estimate." The newspapers printed stories of human interest which occurred because of the flood. The Panguitch Progress reported that, Miss Alice Syrett, the faithfully [sic] lady at the telephoned [sic], sent warning throughout Circleville Valley, phoned to John F. Chidester of the State Land Board and remained faithful to her post till the waters swept away the wires. People who have found fault with some slight defect in the telephone service appreciate it now. 3
Latter-day Saint Apostle Heber J. Grant, on his way to Kane County for a church conference, got to Manti but was turned back "on account of no roads." 4 One humorous account by a resident revealed some of the aftermath of the flooding. One m a n of our town had gone into the hog raising business and had quite a herd. When the water abated fish were everywhere â&#x20AC;&#x201D; thousands of them. Many trout were gathered for food. The man with the hogs decided it would be a good way to grow them out, or fatten them, so he let the hogs wallow in the mud and gather fish for food. When slaughtering time came it was like eating four legged fish and not fresh fish either. T o this day I wonder what became of all those fish-flavored hogs. 5
On June 5, 1914, the Panguitch Progress reported that, 'Letter to author dated January 12, 1967, from Mrs. Effel Riggs, of Hatch, Utah. Panguitch Progress, May 29, 1914. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Riggs, Letter. 2
266
Utah Historical Quarterly Eight thousand pounds of parcel post mail is piled up at the post offices in Circleville, Junction and Marysvale waiting the opening of the road through the canyon. Four tons of mail will require much extra labor on the part of S. A. Barton, the mail carrier, who has done splendidly in getting all the mail through that he could since the flood.
Utah Governor William Spry immediately noted that, The State is under obligation to supply water to the settlers as soon as possible, and there is also a moral obligation to take care of losses. It will be my effort to take care of these and bring about a settlement in as
Hatchtown
Dam
267
amicable a manner as possible. It is probable that the next Legislature will be called upon to make an appropriation to take care of the losses.6
The breaking of the dam caused no loss of human life, but individual losses to citizens as well as the destruction of telephones, roads, and other structures, caused significant damage. Early estimates placed this at several hundred thousand dollars, but this figure was rapidly scaled down as actual claims came in. 7 It was reported locally that "an inspector from the U. S. Government" had investigated the dam site by June 5, following visits by representatives of the Utah Land Board and Governor Spry. Noting that before the dam broke, urgent appeals by the community for investigation of the dam site had gone unheeded, the local paper editorialized somewhat caustically that, "There seems to be no trouble in having State Officers and competent engineers look at the dam or remains of it, now." 8 The Hatchtown Dam was built by the State of Utah in 1907-08 as a storage dam to impound water for the irrigation of some six thousand acres of land on what was locally known as the Panguitch Bench. The dam was built about one and one-fourth miles south of Hatch, Utah, and the dam took its name from the town. The lands to be brought under irrigation were about thirty miles down stream, along the Sevier River from Hatch, although water from the reservoir was expected to provide an economic stimulus to the entire Panguitch Valley. Similar dams were constructed at other sites along the Sevier River. When the Hatchtown Dam broke, flood waters washed away many smaller dams, but the Piute Reservoir below Junction held the flood waters successfully and prevented further disaster. 9 6
Deseret Evening News, May 27, 1914. ' See Panguitch Progress for May 29, 1914, for an initial cataloguing of losses. The losses to private citizens alone in Panguitch Valley were estimated at more than $100,000 as of that date. Damage reports from Circleville and down river were not yet available. A telegram from the governor's representative on the scene, in Panguitch, State Engineer W. D. Beers, dated May 31, 1914, reported that "people here are taking their losses without kicking." A history published by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, "Golden Nuggets of Pioneer Days": A History of Garfield County (Panguitch, 1949), 238, indicated that the flood did "millions of dollars worth of damage" down the Sevier River. 'Panguitch Progress, June 5, 1914. "A telegram from State Engineer Beers to Governor Spry dated May 26, 1914 from Richfield, noted that since 6:00 A.M. the waters of the Piute Reservoir had risen six-tenths of a foot, and that water was running into the Piute Reservoir very fast but was subsiding at Panguitch. The water traveled the approximately nineteen miles to Panguitch in less than three hours. A telegram from C. J. Ullrich, assistant state engineer, to the Engineering Record in New York City dated May 27, 1914, reported that ten to fifteen smaller dams between Hatchtown and Piute reservoirs had been swept away. Ullrich also reported that the Piute Reservoir had a capacity of ninety-three thousand acre-feet, but stored only fifty-one thousand acre-feet when the Hatchtown Dam broke. The Hatchtown Dam at the time of failure stored about twelve to thirteen thousand acre-feet. Ullrich estimated the water level of the Piute Reservoir raised only four feet as a result of flooding.
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The 1915 Biennial Report of the state engineer contained a report to the governor on the failure of the Hatchtown Dam. The state engineer gave as probable causes for the failure (1) poor foundation, (2) poor engineering design of culvert and control works, and (3) increased irrigation on the bench land west of the dam site which led to the development of additional "springs" in the foundation of the dam.10 Later investigations revealed that as early as 1910 extensive repairs had been made to the dam. A letter from State Engineer W. D. Beers to the governor dated February 10, 1915, commented on the additional information he had obtained since the Biennial Report and concluded, I do not think it will be necessary for me to change my final conclusions in the report I submitted to you, but the [additional r e p o r t ] . . . throws considerable light on the behavior of the structure during its operation and shows there was a great line of weakness along the culvert.
Local residents remembered the 1910 troubles. One woman recalled: Early in 1910 the reservoir basin had reached its capacity of storage, and the gates were ordered opened. The pressure of the water against the gates was so strong as to hold them fast. Three men using all their strength on the big wheels could not move them in the least. As I recall they were referred to as " T h e Jenson Lock Gates" and were supposed to be "fool proof." When the re.port was made to the State Engineer that the gates were set firm, Mr. Joseph Jenson, who had been the construction engineer, was sent down to "show the country guys how to do it." T h e gates would not yield to his mastery. It was decided the gates would have to be opened to let out the water, so it was decided to jar them loose with dynamite. This was done, and as I recall the gates came up, but seemingly a crack was made in the culvert wall and ere long water began to seep out and cave off the dirt, becoming larger as time went by. Efforts were made to check it from caving more, by filling the surface cavity with large black rock. One Sunday the L.D.S. Stake Conference was in session and die authorities of the ward had gone to attend the Conference in Panguitch. Every able bodied person in Hatch, man, woman and even children who were big enough to load rocks rallied to the cause of saving the dam. We worked hard and long. There was no thought of recompense. O u r only thought was to prevent the dam from breaking. Following are extracts of two old letters written at this time. While I do not now recall these facts as herein mentioned, I suppose they were En ineer rr I'nV^K^Z S > Ninth Biennial Report of the State Engineer, 1913-14 (Salt Lake City, 1915), 33-40 A number of photographs and drawings of the dam site accompany the report. The official files of Governor Spry in the Utah State Archives also contain detailed reports on the construction of the dam, its history, and probable causes of failure. Much but not all, ol this material is reflected in the state engineer's Report.
Hatchtown
Dam
ofiQ
current knowledge when I wrote them to my grandparents who had moved to Delta the previous year. Hatch, Utah 9 May 1910 We thought we were all out of danger from the reservoir, but don't know for sure yet, as last Thursday it started to cave in a new place west of the culvert, but they think that they have that remedied now, but it may cave again. However the men think it is safe for a while. Hatch, Utah 26 May 1910 Work has quit on the dam now, but it isn't perfectly safe yet. They have shut the gates almost down now. Someone said they are shut down tight. (This would indicate the stored water supply had all been drawn off) but the culvert has washed out underneath and a good summer-sized stream flows through. They have been trying to fill in the hole but can't seem to do it. They made a box of heavy plank, filled it with rocks and let it down with ropes. T h e water came through with so much force it broke a piece out of it. Jenson sent down some seamless sacks, told them to fill them full of gravel and let down. They took three bags placed them one inside the other, then filled them with gravel, tied them securely and let them down with ropes. As soon as the water hit it the ropes were broken, opening u p tire bags and out came the muddy water. They think the crack was caused by blowing out the gates last spring. It was cracked and when they turned the water in it washed it out. This side looks like it was riprapped, the same as the other side does. Because it started to cave in so many places and they filled it in with rocks. 11
Despite the history of "hard luck" and the disaster of May 25, the Panguitch Progress for June 5, 1914, indicated that the State Land Board was "thinking" of rebuilding the dam at the same site but was still unsure of the best course of action. Local sentiment seemed to favor immediate rebuilding of the dam so that the reservoir waters would be available to settlers. On June 17 a number of distinguished visitors, including Governor Spry and State Engineer Beers, visited the site of the dam and areas of major destruction along with members of a local citizens committee. These state officials held an evening mass meeting in the Social Hall in Panguitch where the governor spoke. Later, after the mass meeting, the officials met with local leadership, including Thomas Sevy, chairman of the hurriedly organized Panguitch Citizens' Committee. Members of "Riggs, Letter. J. L. Rhead, field assistant to the state engineer, wrote State Engineer W. D. Beers on January 15, 1915, and reviewed at some length the mistakes of engineering judgment that probably led to the failure of the dam. He questioned everything from the time of year that the culvert construction had begun to the choice of the site itself. The official history of Garfield County says the "history of this dam is one of 'hard luck' from the beginning," DUP, History of Garfield County, 235.
Utah Historical
270
Quarterly
From Ninth Biennial Report of the State Engineer, 1913â&#x20AC;&#x201D;14
Hatchtown
Dam,
May
23, 1914,
two days before
the failure
of the
dam.
the State Land Board stayed at the local hotel for a day or two to meet with persons sustaining losses due to the flood.12 In a letter to Governor Spry on June 5, State Land Board Commissioner John F. Chidester reported that State Engineer Beers was completing a canal from the river to supply water to Panguitch, although "teams are very hard to get here at this season of the year." Chidester noted that the attitude of the local people was good, crops that were left looked fine, there was plenty of water, and there "is a call for more land and water as soon as the rebuilding [of the dam] starts, we can sell more land and water." Chidester and Beers had prepared a printed form, "Claim for Damages Under the Hatchtown Reservoir," to assist the local citizenry to list their damages. Chidester urged the governor to "Let the people know that the State Administration was ready to assist them in arranging their claims for damages" and noted that one individual was causing some unrest and agitation. 13 Chidester noted in this same letter to the governor that the damage was "quite heavy" at Panguitch but "like it was at Circleville, the damages are beginning to show up much lighter than it was first supposed." 12 Panguitch Progress, June 19, 1914. The group included Governor Spry, Secretary of State David Mattson, Attorney General Albert R. Barnes, and Land Board Commissioners W. D. Landlan, W. J. Lynch, M. W. Merrill, and John F. Chidester. " J o h n F. Chidester to Governor William Spry, State of Utah, Governors' Papers (William Spry [1909-1916]), Utah State Archives. This letter and all other official correspondence referred to in this article are found in the papers of Governor Spry.
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Dam
277
An earlier letter to the governor from Fred E. Eldredge, secretary of the Panguitch Commercial Club, dated May 27, 1914, stated the flood had done irreparable damage in the Panguitch Valley. T h e water destroyed several homes, tore out all the bridges along the channel of the river, wiped out all the telephone lines and fences in its course. It has made the state road wholly impassable between Circleville and Panguitch Valley and the southern part of the state. All the canals in the Valley are more or less injured and in some cases it is doubtful if repairs can be had in sufficient time to save growing crops. T h e settlers on the bench under the Hatch Project must suffer entire loss of crops.
By F e b r u a r y of 1915 the governor and the L a n d Board had appointed a committee to assist the board in appraising the numerous damage claims. Chidester wrote Spry on February 7, 1915, to state that nearly all local citizens were generally satisfied with the losses as estimated by the board and that except for two or three individuals who might wish to appear personally before the Board of Examiners in Salt Lake City, most persons agreed to have the board present the damage appraisals to the legislature. Chidester informed the governor that he found little evidence of bitter sentiment "that we have been led to believe existed down here." A strong editorial in the Panguitch Progress for August 7, 1914, read, "If the people of Piute and Garfield counties expect to get damages from the flood they want to send very good, able men, with sound sense, to the Legislature." In the fall election Thomas Sevy, chairman of the Citizens' Committee, was elected to the Utah House of Representatives. Of interest is the fact that Chidester in his letter to Spry on February 7, 1915, indicated ". . . if Representative Sevy will be a little more cool headed, the claims will be adjusted without difficulty, as I feel that he has stirred up a feeling that there was no need for." During early 1915 some pressure was mounted to bring suit against the Utah State Land Board or to take other legal action to assure restoration of losses. Probably, however, the consensus of local opinion is mirrored in a telegram to the governor dated February 8, 1915, from Thomas Haycock, president of the Panguitch Commercial Club, which read, "The masses of the people in and around the Panguitch Valley damaged by the flood from the Hatchtown Dam are satisfied and heartily approve of the action so far taken on their claims presented to the Land Board." A number of leading citizens subscribed to this attitude and
272
Utah Historical
Quarterly
wrote Governor Spry to urge him to so inform the legislative committees handling claims against the state. 14 Most initial reaction favored rebuilding the reservoir. On February 9, 1915, Benjamin Cameron, treasurer and manager of the Garfield County Telephone Company in Panguitch, wrote Governor Spry saying, "I would like to see the reservoir constructed this coming summer, as I believe it is a good thing for the State and the people." Some sentiment adverse to the rebuilding of the dam and disputations concerning the location and other matters mounted slowly. The minutes of the Hatch L.D.S. Ward, Panguitch Stake, for August 8, 1915, recorded T h e residents of H a t c h Ward, Panguitch consider the advisability of petitioning the State a reservoir just below our town. A committee make said petition: Jas. B. Burrows, L. Leroy ington. 15
Stake, met a t 5 p.m. to L a n d Board not to build was chosen as follows to Porter and A. W. H u n t -
The ward clerk later recorded in the minutes of the August 15, 1915, sacrament meeting of the Hatch Ward, "Also read a letter gotten up by appointment, protesting to State Land Board against the building of a reservoir just below our town." Such objection by Hatch residents had more to do with a proposed dam site and availability of water if the site was down river from the town than whether or not to rebuild the dam. An elderly resident of Hatch recalled working "for the State of Utah on a drilling machine for about four months in 1916 testing for foundations and there is one there of a dam formation but it was not used." He also noted that many local residents have been working since the 1940's to have a dam built. 16 The dam was never replaced because of long drawn-out legal battles over water rights. The settlers below the dam eventually abandoned the land, which reverted to the state, and since then the land has grown only sagebrush and wild grass without irrigation. 17 " U t a h , Laws of the State of Utah (1915), c. 122, sec. 1, pp. 255-60, lists the claims for which appropriations were finally made by the 1915 legislature. Claims ranged from a. low of $2.00 to several thousand dollars. There were some 150 claimants originally. 10 "Minutes of the Hatch Ward, Panguitch Stake (1913-1921)," Historical Records No. 56288 (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Historian's Library, Salt Lake City). It is interesting to note that on December 20, 1914, the ward minutes record that Bishop James B. Burrows in his year-end report to the members said, ". . . the tithing paid thus far exceeds all previous years." 10 Letter to author dated February 8, 1967, from James H. Burrows of Hatch, Utah. James H. is the son of the early bishop in Hatch, James B. Burrows. "Utah, Laws of the State of Utah (1909), c. 16, directed the Land Board to select suitable sites for the construction of reservoirs, to acquire title to adjacent property and to construct reservoirs to provide water to state and other lands. The object was to promote settlement of these lands by conveying water rights to purchasers of lands surrounding reservoir sites The
Hatchtown
Dam
273
A number of years later the engineer, who had been in charge of construction at the Hatchtown Dam, applied for the position of state engineer under Governor Simon Bamberger, who served from 1917-21. The story is told that the man produced a number of credentials for Governor Bamberger's review at the time of his interview and stressed his excellent academic qualifications and broad professional experience. The governor simply asked him, "Didn't you design the Hatchtown Dam?" When the candidate said, "Yes," Bamberger threw the papers in the wastebasket and dismissed him. Bamberger subsequently hired another candidate as state engineer. 18 Despite local concern over problems with the dam dating from as early as 1910 and with a history of trouble with the dam site (at least two earlier dams built after 1900 near the same site had failed), no official action or serious investigation was made until after the failure of the dam. One wonders at the indifference displayed over such an obvious potential disaster. Perhaps Governor Spry's assurance that "every precaution has been taken to make the [Hatchtown] reservoir and canal construction substantial and secure" 19 imparted a false sense of security. It is only hoped a lesson has been learned from the history of the Hatchtown Dam, and in the future corrective measures will be taken in situations which need to be changed. Indifference can be very costly as the residents who survived the Hatchtown Dam disaster can testify.
%£had abe°en " i f t o people fromTut "of the state When it became app-arem.that: the reservoir was not being built again, t ^ ^ ^ ^ f f l X T ^ W « S m ^ t T ^ d e ^ r i J t V n f h I^SoTcZnpany, et al. v. Deseret Irrigation Company..
C nCe
°
™William Spry, Executive Message to the Eighth Session of the Legislature of Utah, p. 13,
in Utah, Public Documents,
Part 1 (1907-1908).
R EVIEWS AN â&#x20AC;˘ PUBLICATIONS Grenville M. Dodge: Soldier, Politician, Railroad Pioneer. By STANLEY P. H I R S H S O N . (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967. xiv + 334 pp. $10.00) Grenville M . Dodge, businessman, soldier, engineer, and politician, was one of a few score energetic and influential men who left their marks on American history in the late nineteenth century. Stanley P. Hirshson, associate professor of history at Queens College, has written the first serious biography of the man in almost forty years. Dodge did many things in his lifetime, and he did most of them well and to his personal profit. Like other ambitious men of his day, he moved to the West in search of fame and fortune. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he acquired both. His reputation as a man of action stemmed from two lines of activity â&#x20AC;&#x201D; first as an entrepreneur, engineer, and politician, secondly as an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War. Although usually remembered as an aggressive and gallant soldier and as the builder of the Union Pacific and other railroads in the West, Dodge was equally successful as a financier and as a politician, emerging after the war as the undisputed leader of the Des Moines Regency that controlled Iowa for more than four decades. Drawing upon extensive manuscript materials and a voluminous secondary literature, Professor Hirshson has written an excellent biography of one of the West's great figures. In a lively, imagi-
native style, the story of Dodge unfolds, revealing an ambitious, bold, sometimes arrogant and brutal man. Dodge was small in physical stature and possessed two objectives in life, wealth and power. Eighteen chapters comprise the narrative of this book. Two are devoted to Dodge's early life and his initial achievements as an engineer and businessman. Five chapters delineate his military activities. T h e balance of the book is concerned with the roles of a war hero, r a i l r o a d b u i l d e r , capitalist, and partisan leader, until voluntary retirement in 1907, which was followed by almost a decade devoted to friends, writing, and reflection on past achievements. Each chapter is elaborately documented. Through exhaustive research, the author has untangled the events of Dodge's life, which were artfully and deliberately twisted and warped to personal advantage in letters, articles, and books. For example, Dodge, who commenced his military career as a colonel in command of the Fourth Iowa Infantry Regiment and rose to the rank of major general before the close of hostilities, insisted that he did not use political influence to obtain commands or promotions, when in fact he was among the most active in the pursuit of both through intrigue. Similarly, he spoke of three wounds suffered in battle; he actually suffered one wound and two accidents in the line of duty. His abilities as a tactician, although considerable, were also grossly exaggerated.
Reviews and Publications
275
T h i s b i o g r a p h y of Grenville M. Dodge will please students of the Civil War as well as those with interests in railroading and the growth of the West. Numerous illustrations, a detailed Bibliography, and a comprehensive Index greatly enhance the value of this excellent book. L E E SCAMEHORN
Professor of History University of Colorado Valley of Salt, Memories of Wine: A Journal of Death Valley, 1849. By L o u i s N U S B A U M E R . E d i t e d by GEORGE
KOENIG.
(Berkeley,
Cali-
fornia: T h e Friends of the Bancroft Library, 1967. xvii + 6 7 p p . N.P.) Western historians will welcome this publication of a hitherto little-known journal of a Death Valley pioneer of 1849. I n that year a large number of California-bound settlers blundered into one of the most inhospitable areas in the Southwest and their story has become a legend. William L. Manly's reminiscent account of his experiences in this episode is well known, but it was written from memory many years later. Valley of Salt is the publication of a brief daily journal written by a fellowtraveler of Manly and is the only known diary made on the trail. Louis Nusbaumer was a young German emigrant who was lured to the California gold fields in 1849. H e was among those who traveled with Jefferson Hunt's party from Salt Lake City in October 1849. Nusbaumer chose to join those w h o left t h e k n o w n trail to attempt a short cut which supposedly existed from the area of present-day Cedar City, Utah, toward Owens Lake, California. Several companies made this venture and some later turned back. Those who went on eventually entered Death Valley and after much suffering and delay they reached Los Angeles. In this forbidding desert the various groups became separated and scattered. Nus-
baumer's account is largely of the Manly party and corroborates information previously guessed at and it adds new facts not before known. T h e journal ends as the company reached safety in California. T h e journal's greatest value is in the experiences that the author records of this segment of the journey although he began his record when he left New York. T h e editor's task included the checking of the translation of the German original made by Nusbaumer's daughter. T h e entries are given in modern readable English. Editorial comments are a major part of the text rather than in footnote form. Journal entries are effectively interspersed between explanatory material. Two corrections are suggested for improvement of these notes. In speaking of the Old Spanish Trail, the editor states (p. 1) that this road was two hundred miles south of the Mormon settlement at Salt Lake. This trail had many variants and one of these was as far north as Utah Valley, about fifty miles from the Mormon center. (See Walter V a n Dyke, "Overland to Los Angeles by the Salt Lake Route in 1849," Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California, I I I [1894], 79.) It is also stated that a "Mormon Trail" existed south of Salt Lake in 1849 (p. 1 ) . A trail was used by early explorers of the Mormon faith as well as by Mormon Battalion men returning to Salt Lake from California, but to apply the name of "Mormon Trail" to this route at that early date is premature. The editor has pointed out the significant contributions of the Nusbaumer journal which western historians will enjoy. His comments will be better understood by the serious student rather than by the casual reader. The place names in the desert area and repeated references to the "Jayhawkers" who traveled a slightly different trail tend to be confusing unless one has an intimate
Utah Historical
276 knowledge of the terrain and of the various groups and their routes. Locations on the detailed m a p of Death Valley are not too well indicated and one could wish for better descriptions of rugged Death Valley canyons than are given. An index and bibliography ought to have been included in this publication. Valley of Salt is a valuable contribution to the knowledge of an intriguing incident of western travel. It will be eagerly studied by students seeking to discover more of the story of the Death Valley forty-niners. R A Y M. REEDER
Professor of History Fort Lewis College Stagecoach
West.
By R A L P H
MOODY.
(New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1967. x + 3 4 1 pp. $6.95) Far western stagecoaching had its inception following the discovery of gold in California. As new strikes were made in Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana, the stagecoach and freight wagon followed the miners to these isolated regions where the problems of supply, communication, and transportation were acute. I n each boom region the story is essentially the same. Transportation facilities were initiated by the small independent operators who stayed in business just long enough to demonstrate that fortunes could be made in mining camps by means other than the pick and pan. T h e large operator then moved in and took over, thus initiating the trend toward monopoly which was to dominate the post-Civil W a r period. The Ben Holladays of stagecoaching differed but little in both aims and means from the Hills and Harrimans of the Guilded Age. A portion of the book is devoted to the operations of the ill-conceived, politically inspired, Butterfield route which someone described as going "from no
Quarterly
place through nothing to nowhere." Another section details the activities of the flamboyant wheeler-dealer William Russell of Russell, Majors and Waddell on the Central Route and of Ben Holladay who picked up the pieces and built an empire. T h e author chronicles objectively and interestingly the "Washington influences," "straw-bidding," and political manipulation which characterized the activities of most of the major western transportation operators. While contributing really little that is new to the subject, the author includes something about almost every aspect of frontier transportation from the mundane problems of financing and operation to their more glamorized accompaniments of galloping horses, Indian attacks, and highwaymen. One of the most interesting sidelights is found in Chapter T w o entitled "Yankee Ingenuity." T h e author traces the evolution of the Concord coach from the ponderous, steel-springed English stagecoach to the graceful, flexible Concord coach on shock-absorbing leather thoroughbraces. Constructed from handforged Norwegian iron and well-seasoned straight grained ash or white oak lumber, a Concord coach "was not only unequalled in durability, design, joinery and smithing but was a complete work of art" (p. 18). Contemporaneously with the adaption of the Concord coach to fit the needs of unimproved American roads, Yankee drivers were evolving an art equally graceful and flexible from the formalized four-in-hand driving taught by the British school of staging. Many of the best drivers were New Englanders who had followed their trade west. It came as a shock when the undertaker discovered that one of the most colorful of the lot, Charlie Parkhurst, was a woman! T h e book draws heavily on excerpts from newspapers and reminiscences of individuals such as Frank A. Root. It is well illustrated with maps, photographs,
Reviews and
Publications
and drawings interspersed throughout the text to give relevance to the material under discussion. This volume should be most favorably accepted by lovers of Western Americana. A L T O N B. OVIATT
Head Department of History Montana State University Pioneer Forts of the West. By HERBERT M. H A R T . Drawings by PAUL J. H A R -
TLE. (Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, 1967. 192 pp. $12.95) In recent years frontier military history has captured the attention of amateur and professional historians. Hoping to capitalize on the national enthusiasm for western lore, publishers have inundated the market with poorly prepared, pseudo-historical m o n o g r a p h s . The "Western Forts Series" has been produced for this market. Since 1963 Herbert M. H a r t has undertaken the herculean task of providing thumbnail sketches of over two hundred forts, campsites, and contonments. T h e fourth volume, Pioneer Forts of the West, recounts the activities of seventy military establishments, while a projected fifth volume will continue the study through the nineteenth century. Frontier posts seldom conformed to a standard design, nor were they surrounded by high stockades of stone or timber. Utilizing readily accessible materials, the army patterned many of the forts after the traditional blockhouse design, while others were simply earthworks with underground shelters. Unlike traditional European fortresses, the western fort "was designed more to fight away from than to fight in." Because forts were impersonal entities, their fame rested on the laurels of a hard fighting frontier army which carved its own special place in western history. In tracing these legends the book provides
277 a general overview of the routine camp life and focuses on the ineffective efforts of the federal army to protect western pioneers. T h e general reader and western buff will find this volume disappointing. While Mr. H a r t admits the posts or forts selected for discussion were chosen arbitrarily, he justifies his selections on the basis that each fort represents a similar role in the settlement of the West. Yet this format does not achieve continuity. This deficiency, in all probability, is due to the general lack of comprehensive planning for the complete series. For example, forts chronicled in Old Forts of the Southwest should have appeared in this volume. While the author presents an impressive list of acknowledgments and a comprehensive Bibliography, the text lacks perceptive analysis and is based primarily on secondary sources. Furthermore, little attempt is made at documentation and one suspects the material has been selected for effect rather than for information. But then Mr. Hart concedes this point: "No claim is made that the coverage of a fort is its definitive history. This could not be done in several books of this size. Instead, an attempt has been made to tell how the post once looked and what took place at or near it." While this volume's use for serious scholarship is negligible, one must a d m i r e the a u t h o r ' s perserverance. Traveling by every imaginable conveyance, Herbert Hart has traversed over sixty-five thousand miles of western landscape visiting and photographing the installations covered in his four volumes. Perhaps this is the book's strongest recommendation. The writer provides a handsome set of instructions which will hopefully allow the novice to reflect on the remains of a fascinating segment of our western heritage. DONALD R.
MOORMAN
Associate Professor of History Weber State College
Utah Historical Quarterly
278 The American
West:
A
Reorientation.
Edited by G E N E M. GRESSLEY. (Lar-
amie: University of Wyoming, 1966. x i v +1 7 2 pp. $5.00) This book is a valuable addition to western history. In seven essays (the Table of Contents lists six, but the one most important for understanding the book and most significant in terms of a reorientation is the editor's Preface) there is a challenging approach to newer concepts. Gressley tells us that the book is prompted by Earl Pomeroy's 1955 article "Toward a Reorientation of Western History: Continuity and Environment," Mississippi Valley Historical Review. From this beginning he points out that there has been much "reoriented" western history written, and he justifies the book as being illustrative of the "scholarship and rethinking about the West that Earl Pomeroy called for in 1955." T h e essays by authors ranging from "well established" to "promising young" are based on the premise that the reorientation of western history is primarily economic. Gerald White writes on the California oil boom of the 1860's and Leonard J. Arrington, with the collaboration of Wayne K. Hinton, writes on the Horn Silver Bonanza. These are the most traditional economic approaches. William Lilley I I and Lewis L. Gould deal with the western irrigation movement of the late nineteenth century. Their study is concerned with the legislative or political approach to irrigation and the failure to reach agreement on an adequate program by advocates of free enterprise who of necessity had to work with government financial support. Another discussion of the impact of government on western economic development is Gerald Nash's evaluation of the role of government, both state and federal, in the development of San Francisco harbor. This essay most nearly demonstrates a new approach or orien-
tation to a significant aspect of western development. The essay on the Union Pacific by Wallace Farnham is the one most nearly kindred to the editor's Introduction. It is not a study of the railroad, but an assessment of what has been written on the subject and a catalog of fruitful approaches still unexploited. Dozens of worthwhile research topics based on new orientations are suggested. T h e last article is perhaps the hardest of the group to incorporate or justify in the collection. Richard T. Tuetten deals with Burton K. Wheeler and the insurgents of the 1920's. T h e essay is then primarily a study of political figures and political actions. Material on Wheeler is comparatively scarce, and through the paper Wheeler battles for major status with more prominent insurgents, especially George W. Norris. In spite of the problems inherent in the topic, the treatment of insurgency is a well-considered and illuminating assessment. This book has real utility to the serious student of western history, and it should have circulation and use far beyond that usually accorded volumes in a university publications series. Unfortunately in format a minor irritation looms large. This reviewer thinks footnotes appearing at the end of a book may sometimes be justified, but in a work of this sort they are a disaster. It is a collection of serious, tightly researched m a t e r i a l w i t h almost onefourth of its pages devoted to footnotes. My copy, dogeared from one reading, illustrates how inconvenient this organization can be. W. D. AESCHBACHER
Associate Professor of History University of Utah Corn, Cucurbits Canyon.
and Cotton from
Glen
By H U G H C. CUTLER. With
an addendum Tabular Summary of Plant and Animal Resources of the Glen Canyon Area. By SUSAN R.
Reviews and Publications CLARK. "Glen Canyon Series" Number 30. Anthropological Papers Number 80. (Salt Lake City: University of U t a h Press, 1966. x + 1 1 6 pp. $4.00) This book, the thirtieth in the University of Utah's impressive series of publications relating to the prehistoric and biological resources of Glen Canyon, has a somewhat deceptive title. It all sounds very esoteric and, to the person interested solely in Utah's historic era, some of it may be. T o the reader concerned with the whole panorama of human life in this part of the Southwest, however, this fine study brings a worthwhile dividend. In addition to a botanical description of three major plants â&#x20AC;&#x201D; corn, cotton, and squashes or pumpkins â&#x20AC;&#x201D; grown by the prehistoric inhabitants of the Canyonlands, the author has provided a concise, readable, and up-to-date summary of the history of the domestication of these crops in the New World. Dr. Cutler, outstanding ethnobotanist and curator of Useful Plants at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, is eminently qualified to write such a resume. The reading of this section alone will provide a clear picture of the importance of these plants in the lives of prehistoric southwestern Indians and is, therefore, highly recommended. For the student of archaeology or ethnobiology, the bulk of this monograph describes in detail these cultigens from each recorded ruin in Glen Canyon. During the excavations, all plant and animal remains were collected, a routine practice today. Certainly, the archaeologist seeks not only to reconstruct the culture history of peoples, including organic materials making up the culture, but, as well, the ecological and climatic situation in the area at the time the ruins were occupied. This analysis of the large volume of cultivated vegetal remains recovered during the excavations is a substantial contri-
279 bution to our understanding of the economy and a portion of the food habits of the aborigines of Glen Canyon. Parenthetically, one of the best and most exciting statements of the total picture of human ecology in the Pueblo Southwest, and one that should be read in conjunction with Cutler's contribution, is Jesse D. Jennings' Glen Canyon: A Summary, Number 81 in the University of Utah's Anthropological Papers. Concluding the study is an addendum by Susan Clark, tabulating all the plant and animal remains recovered from Glen Canyon and, in one section, comparing archaeological and ethnohistorical uses of them. This certainly will be of good c o m p a r a t i v e value for ecological studies in neighboring regions. In sum, Corn, Cucurbits and Cotton should be of interest and import to many readers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; archaeologists, historians, biologists, ecologists, and, in its introductory section, to all who are concerned with the early Pueblo and Fremont cultures of Utah. ROBERT C. EULER
Chairman Center for Anthropological Studies Prescott College Rocky Mountain
Mining
Camps:
The
Urban Frontier. By D U A N E A. SMITH.
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967. xii + 3 0 4 p p . $6.95) Rocky Mountain Mining Camps is an attempt (1) to describe the evolution of basic social, economic, and political institutions in the mining camps of the Rocky Mountain region and (2) to develop the thesis that the Rocky Mountain frontier was really an urban frontier and that the development of urban institutions actually preceded and paved the way for the agricultural frontier. The first objective is accomplished through a series of interesting chapters on almost every aspect of life in the mining community. Smith describes the
280 variety of people who flocked to mining camps, their many problems, the general pattern of town growth, problems of town government, law enforcement, and social development. There is little new by way of general information, but the author's main contribution is to have compiled it in a concise and worthwhile form not available elsewhere. Professor Smith's sources of information include diaries, journals, autobiographies, contemporary newspapers, and a large number of secondary works. The towns most frequently cited as examples include twenty-six Rocky Mountain communities and three in South Dakota. Nevada is excluded from the study. This apparently narrow selection creates some problems. The reader is never quite sure that the generalizations really apply to all mining camps in the region and suspects that there must have been some significant differences w h i c h should have been discussed more thoroughly. T h e author has neglected the coal mining communities which sprang up in the Rocky Mountain area; yet these towns could well have provided significant deviations from the general patterns established in the book. Many of these communities, for example, were owned or controlled by private companies, and the development of political institutions was quite different in company-owned towns than in other mining camps. T h e author's treatment of community social activity is probably a more accurate generalization, but the reader is still left wondering why the descriptions are significant and how life in a maturing mining camp was really so much different from that in some other community, such as a town near a military post, a cattle town, or even the central community of some farming area. T h e author does not suggest why Rocky Mountain camps are any more significant for study than those of California or Nevada, or whether there is any need for comparison. Indeed, he makes only passing reference to Howard
Utah Historical
Quarterly
Shinn's Mining Camps, an excellent study of g o v e r n m e n t in California camps, and never compares or contrasts his pattern of government with that of Shinn. Nor does he explain why South Dakota camps should be included with Rocky Mountain camps if, indeed, the Rockies have any particular significance as far as the development of camps is concerned. Furthermore, there is nothing by way of statistics to suggest the relative significance of mining camps in the West, either in terms of the number of camps or the number of people employed in mining, as compared to other occupations. In a book which purports to explore the significance of mining camps, this omission seems serious. Smith's urban frontier thesis is most interesting, but also presents a few problems. H e points to the fact that in other areas the growth of towns came after the initial agrarian settlement but declares that this was "Not so in the Rocky Mountains, for here the camps preceded and helped bring about general settlement." He correctly suggests that the mining frontier created an urban pattern different from that of the agricultural frontier and that in areas where mining preceded agriculture the latter was encouraged by the existence of mining communities. Smith's conclusions, however, are mere generalities which are not sufficiently documented and should be supported by more research. Perhaps the contribution of this chapter is to point the way toward more studies on an urban frontier thesis for the Rocky Mountain West. T h e main problem with die chapter is that it might leave a slight misconception of the significance of the mining frontier in this region. While it is true that mining led the way in the settlement of Idaho and Montana, population statistics indicate that in other Rocky Mountain territories the agricultural frontier preceded mining and was more important in terms of the number of people involved. Utah is the most obvious example, but
Reviews and Publications
281
New Mexico was also an exception to Smith's generalization. In 1850 some 46 per cent of the working population were employed in agriculture and only .1 per cent in mining. T e n years later 3.2 per cent were employed in mining, but 41.3 per cent were still engaged in agriculture, and by 1900 the ratio was 43.2 to 6.3 per cent. In the case of Arizona, 20.6 per cent of the employed population were engaged in agriculture in 1870, as opposed to 3.7 per cent in mining. By 1880 the ratio had changed significantly so that 28.7 per cent were engaged in mining and only 15.4 in agriculture, but the ratio was reversed again by the 1890 census. (See Leonard Arrington's The Changing Economic Structure of the Mountain West, 18501950 [Logan, 1963].) With figures like these, it would be difficult to demonstrate that all areas included in Smith's region developed on the basis of an urban frontier. It seems that Idaho and Montana fit the pattern best; Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona only partly conform; and U t a h and New Mexico do not fit at all. In general Professor Smith does well in his attempt to describe life in the camps he has studied but leaves something to be desired in his effort to establish a thesis or to demonstrate the significance of what he has done. T h e thesis is important, however, and has undoubtedly pointed the way toward some significant future studies. J A M E S B. A L L E N
Associate Professor of History Brigham Young University Odyssey
of a Desert
HERMAN
W.
Prospector.
ALBERT.
By
(Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1967. ix + 260 pp. $2.00) T h e author, as a student in a New York Theological Seminary, became intrigued with Nevada and its silver glamour through accounts of the rise to fame and fortune of Tasker Odie. With
money earned through trundling freight on the New York docks, he headed west by railroad to Tonopah in 1906. A prospector with an addiction to gambling talked him into a grubstake of four burros, a prospecting outfit, and some cash to help him find a rumored "million ton gold bonanza." The cash went to a Tonopah gambling house, and our author decided to take to the hills himself with the burros and outfit. In the narrative of prospecting in Nevada, southern Idaho, and eastern C a l i f o r n i a , i n c l u d i n g Death Valley, ranches, towns, and people tend to crowd details of actual prospecting into the background. lone, Berlin, Tonopah, Goldfield, Austin, Manhattan, the Reese River ranches, the Ubehebe Crater area of Death Valley, Death Valley Scotty and his "Castle," George Wingfield, Noble Getchell, Bert Acre, other prospectors, law men, the Indians of the area, and several boom and bust mining camps â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all active ingredients of life in Nevada in the 1910's and 1920's â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are interestingly and accurately presented. As the prospecting does not prove rewarding, it is often interrupted by job seeking, and the accounts of the author's mining, bookkeeping, forest ranger service, and apprenticeship to an itinerant German carpenter add zest and give further insight into the way of life in Nevada at the time. The Nevada mining promotions centering around silver at Tonopah and gold at Goldfield involve the author in options, claim jumping suits, rich-todayand-broke-tomorrow experiences which terminate in his winning the hand of his lady love and becoming a bank officer in Tonopah. T h e book will not give you instruction in the details of prospecting, but if you know Nevada, or are interested in the Nevada of the early 1900's, it makes rewarding reading. M I L E S P. R O M N E Y
Utah Mining
Manager Association
282 The Photographer and the River, 1889— 1890: The Colorado canon diary of Franklin A. Nims with the BrownStanton railroad survey expedition. Edited by D W I G H T L. S M I T H . (Santa
Fe: Stagecoach Press, 1967. 75 pp. $4.95) During the summer of 1889 and again during the winter of 1889-90, Robert B. Stanton led railroad reconnaissance expeditions through the canyons of the Colorado River. Only the expeditions of John Wesley Powell in 1869 and 1871-72 preceded him. Stanton hoped to build a railroad from G r a n d J u n c t i o n , C o l o r a d o , t o San Diego, a watergrade route that would tie the economy of the mineral-rich mountains to southern California and, through seaports, to the world. Although Stanton thought he proved the feasibility of such a railroad, it was never built. Nevertheless, in the annals of Colorado River pioneers, he and his men rank close to the top. One of S t a n t o n ' s employees was F r a n k l i n A. Nims, a p h o t o g r a p h e r brought along essentially to shoot technical photographs that would corroborate the survey and the written notations. From Nims's descendents Professor Dwight Smith has located a small diary written by Nims on the two trips. Is Frank Nims's diary valuable to historians? An avid student of Robert B. Stanton's railroad survey would find this book an interesting curiosity. He would search long and hard, however, to find anything that was not already known from better sources. Anyone not acquainted with Stanton's expedition would find Nims's diary exasperatingly brief, confusing in its lack of background information, and poorly written. From its title one would imagine that this is a book full of interesting photographs. Alas, not so. Only four photos and two sketches decorate its tiny (five inches by seven inches) pages, and these are not particularly interesting.
Utah Historical Quarterly One who wants to learn the details of the 1889-90 expedition should read Robert B. Stanton's own account, Down the Colorado, which was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 1965. There he would learn of the frail boats, the lack of life preservers, and the generally poor preparations that led to the drowning of three men in Marble Canyon. From Stanton's Victorian prose he would learn that the second expedition, better prepared, had much better luck — all except for the p h o t o g r a p h e r — the author here discussed, Franklin A. Nims. On New Year's Day, 1890, Nims tried to reach a vantage point to take a photograph, missed his footing, and fell twenty feet to solid rock. With a broken leg and severe concussion, Nims was carried by other expedition members in an heroic ascent out of the one thousand-foot deep canyon. Finis to a photographer's boat trip. Better even than Down the Colorado would be Stanton's actual notes and diary, a t w o - v o l u m e work w h i c h has been edited by Dwight Smith and C. Gregory Crampton and which is now awaiting publication. Meanwhile Nims's little diary may safely be ignored. W. L. R U S H O
Public Information Officer U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Salt Lake City The Water Crisis. By SENATOR FRANK
E. M o s s . F o r e w o r d by PAUL H. DOUGLAS. (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967. xiii + 305 pp. $5.95) Senator Frank E. Moss has written an absorbing story on the water crisis. In his text he has developed a prognostication, a lamentation, an evaluation, and finally an exploration of the problems and possibilities associated with the use and development of our critical resource, water. I n developing his prognosis, he says, "for the next generation
Reviews and
Publications
of Americans I believe it is not an exaggeration to say that water — its competing uses and the conflicts that arise out of those uses — may be our most crucial national problem." In his lamentation he bewails the historical evidence, that "as a nation we Americans are guilty of abusing our national heritage — our generation is raiding the rivers and lakes, attacking the estuaries, and threatening the bays and seas that touch our land." I n his evaluation he stressed the point, that in order to safeguard our water resources for the future, "the highest priority is planning," and finally he explores the means by which we should approach our problems of water by suggesting that "the conditions of our waters will not permit delay of water resources programs, if water is to be provided and water resources protected for the many necessary uses, and if deterioration is to be stopped, we must go forward with watershed conservation, improved water use practices for industry, the study of interbasin transfer and research, including desalination and weather modification." It is a fascinating story and an enlightening historical review of a single resource use and abuse written by a politician — one who has had a personal exposure to the critical water problems of the arid West and the experience of a lawmaker who has been involved in the political process of problem solving in water resource matters. It is not entirely pessimistic. Senator Moss has provided encouragement by pointing out the progress we have made in such programs as river basin planning and development, green fields and forests, the miracle of Santee, the race — in research, and the ocean floor. He also points out the possibilities of more progress if we can "change the weather" and develop waters "from the frozen north." Finally he recommends: " T h e planning and construction of projects for
283 water storage and flood control must be vigorously pursued. The national clean water effort must be rapidly implemented to the full limits of the law. A department of natural resources must be created promptly in the federal government. T h e creation of river-basin authorities must be encouraged, with the goal of establishing effective planning agencies for all water resource regions." T h e book should be read by professionals, laymen, water users, and the politicians. It dramatically retraces our historical past a n d c h a r t s a course "toward a national policy" for water resource development. J. W H I T N E Y FLOYD
College of Natural Utah State
Dean Resources University
Here Rolled the Covered Wagons. ALBERT and
J A N E SALISBURY.
By
Third
Revised Edition. (Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, [1967]. 264 pp. $10.00) Now in its third edition, this photographic guide is enlarged to include eighty-seven places of historic interest, mostly in the Pacific Northwest. Arranged in tour sequence, the sites are chosen to reflect the authors' interest in the Indians and fur trade, with Indian wars the most common. A number of emigrant trail, military post, exploration, and mining sites comprise most of the rest of the book. Each site gets at least a two-page presentation, one of pictures and the other of text. Some rate extra treatment. Most, but not all, have a photo of a monument or of a marker; for some, no markers are available. Many of the monuments are tombstones; the others are the contribution of a variety of societies and agencies. This collection as a whole suggests the kinds of historic sites that might attract highway travelers who seek places of interest in the Northwest.
284 Problems inevitably arise in compiling material for a work such as this. Monuments are notoriously poor as historical sources. A forty-nine-book Bibliography at the end of the text includes a mixture of folk histories and more dependable accounts, and omits those reliable regional histories which might have helped to guard against some of the errors which have crept into the text. Responsible general histories, though, often do not allude to many of the places and incidents referred to in this kind of work. T h e difficulty of assembling information for a venture such as this is compounded by obscurity of many of the subjects and the legendary status of some of the sites. Without attempting to compile a catalog of errors, a review ought to indicate samples of the less trivial ones. Colter's Hell, for example, is confused with Yellowstone Park, which is decidedly west of the true site. An explanation of the fur traders' rendezvous system appears with pictures of Jackson's Hole — an unfortunate choice, since no rendezvous occurred there. Pierre's Hole, a fine mountain valley directly to the west, had a first-rate rendezvous in 1832, and other alternates are available. O n top of that, the spectacular east side of the Tetons is pictured to explain the Pilot Knobs, or three Tetons. In the view chosen, the three Tetons cannot be identified, a l t h o u g h a view of the Tetons from the west — in which the Pilot Knobs are visible and identifiable — appears on the succeeding pages. Here the text and pictures would be fine, if only they were better matched. Farther on, W. P. Hunt gave up his attempt to descend Snake River Canyon sixty miles or more below Farewell Bend (p. 60), where this Astorian incident is misplaced. Some other people are mislocatcd also. H. J. T a l b o t t e (Cherokee Bob) and Henry Plummer are listed as "miscreants . . . [who] tried their luck at Idaho City." Idaho City certainly had more than its share of
Utah Historical Quarterly illustrious bad men, and Cherokee Bob might easily have become one if he had not wound up in the Florence cemetery just as Idaho City was getting off to a boisterous start. A sketch of Henry Plummer (p. 168) quite properly omits Idaho City from the scenes of his misadventures. Mislocations are not the only difficulty. If the " T h r e e - s t a t e House" (p. 144) at Hellgate actually were old enough (1853) to have stood there before Washington Territory was c r e a t e d , it w o u l d be a "Four-state House." Perhaps it should be identified as having been in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, assuming its construction by early 1863. Except for confusion with the Wind River Sacajawea who died in 1884, the sketch of Sacajawea is a good one (p. 242). But the one of her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (p. 192), omits his fascinating European and l a t e r A m e r i c a n c a r e e r , stating erroneously that he followed a typical Indian life from 1830-85. T h e legend that Jane Silcott guided E. D. Pierce's party of prospectors in 1860 is presented as fact (p. 218), and the legendary Almo Massacre of 1861 (p. 4 2 ) , for which d o c u m e n t a t i o n is unavailable, similarly is misrepresented. Other legends, however, are presented as legends, and enhance die attractiveness of the book. P e r h a p s the book m i g h t lose a little of its color with the correction of some of these errors. But that is color it could afford to lose. In addition to inclusion of four new sketches, the newest edition adds some new pictures, including an accurate one of the Three Island Crossing of the Oregon Trail over Snake River (p. 49) which corrects an earlier error. In many of the sketches, however, directions which were precise and useful for finding places in 1948 no longer are good. The problem of keeping the text up-todate on such matters is overwhelming. A surprising number of changes have occurred in the past twenty years, so that use of the current printing of this
Reviews and Publications guide will be difficult at many points. In spite of these drawbacks, this volume brings together information about a surprising variety of places, many of them not well known. Used with care, this book can direct the traveler to many places of interest in the Pacific Northwest. MERLE WELLS
Historian and Archivist Idaho State Historical Society California Ranchos and Farms, 18461862: Including the Letters of John Quincy Adams Warren of 1861, Being Largely Devoted to Livestock, Wheat Farming, Fruit Raising, and the Wine Industry. Edited With An Extended Introduction by PAUL W. GATES. (Madison: T h e State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1967. x x + 2 3 2 pp. $9.00) It seems ironic that the most recent historical work on California agriculture should have been written by a professor in New York and published by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The book is divided into two parts: the first 84 pages are the work of Professor Paul Gates of Cornell, while the remaining 130 pages are reprints of articles published in the American Stock Journal between 1860 and 1862. The first section seems to this reviewer to be the more valuable. Its focus is on the all important but usually ignored question of the t r a n s i t i o n from an ephemeral placer gold economy to one dominated by agriculture. Those who have met Professor Gates in various western archives and libraries during the last ten or fifteen years will be awed but not surprised at the thoroughness of his research. This section of the book is extremely well documented. It is an authoritative account of the revolutionary changes in California agricultural practices between 1850 and 1860. The chapter on "Mexican Land Grants," although a little confused by frequent
285 uses of the words "claims" and "grants," is one of the best available on that subject. Subsequent chapters on livestock, grain, and fruit and wine trace the changes between Mexican practices and the status in 1860. The fifth chapter on irrigation in the 1850's is also an important contribution. The second part of the book, the letters of John Quincy Adams Warren to the American Stock Journal, are more interesting to the farmer and local historians. Several accounts of blood lines of various animals indicate the concern with improving the stock. Detailed accounts of the Los Angeles and Red Bluff areas will be of interest to people familiar with those areas. Other letters on the regions around San Jose, Stockton, Colusa, and Marin are less detailed. Publication of these letters, found only in Stock Journal sets located in New York and Virginia, give the California historian some idea of what eastern readers knew about the western state. They provide interesting details but little that is surprising. Yet they provide evidence for the author's thesis that scientific agriculture had by 1860 almost completely reoriented California's farm economy which was then about to move into the national and world stage. J O S E P H A.
MCGOWAN
Chairman Department of History Sacramento State College
NEW B O O K S AND PUBLICATIONS The
Boatmen.
By ROBERT W E S T H O W -
ARD. (New York: Sons, 1967)
G. P. Putnam's
This is the story of the vessels and the men who plied the inland and coastal waters of America, from the great birchbark invention of the Indians to the mammoth ore carriers on the Great Lakes today. The author tells how the
286 pioneer boatmen developed the craft needed for each situation — the keelboats, the canal barges, the bullboats, and the sternwheelers. H e details how the boatmen solved the problem of moving their boats upstream, overland, and up mountain sides, and how they added new and colorful words to our language. The saga of the boatmen includes observations by Columbus on the dugout canoe, the story of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and a chronology of boat traffic in America, complete with glossary and maps. The Court-Martial of General George Armstrong Custer. By LAWRENCE A. FROST. ( N o r m a n : U n i v e r s i t y of Oklahoma Press, 1968) This book is a highly detailed treatment of the Custer trial prepared by a respected authority on the United States Army general who achieved lasting fame by leading his troops to annihilation in the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. The Custer court-martial grew out of a disastrous expedition against Plains Indians in the summer of 1867, commanded by Major General Winfield S. Hancock with Major General George A. Custer in command of the cavalry. Congress already was disturbed because of the money spent on the Indian wars on the Plains. So, when Custer made a wrong move, which normally would have resulted in a reprimand, he provided the obvious scapegoat. T h e original charges leveled at him were of little consequence, but the ones tacked on resulted in his being given a year's leave without command or pay. Lawrence Frost outlines the events leading to the Indian uprising in Kansas in 1867 and presents the verbatim proceedings from the court-martial, transcribed from original documents. A valuable contribution to the Custer story, this volume will prove intriguing
Utah Historical Quarterly for everyone interested in military history and the Plains Indian wars. Estevanico The Black. By J O H N U P T O N
TERRELL. (Los Angeles: Westernlore Press, Publishers, 1968) According to John Upton Terrell, the first man of Old World blood to explore Arizona and New Mexico was Estevanico the Black. E s t e v a n i c o went ahead of Fray Marcos, of Nice, from Mexico, crossed Arizona, and reached Hawikuh, the most westerly pueblo of Cibola, in New Mexico, in 1539 — several days' journey beyond the padre's farthest point of advance. I t was Estevanico, a Moor, a Negro, who actually opened the land gate to the American Southwest. And for this great accomplishment, he paid with his life. This book chronicles Estevanico's journey as Fray Marcos' guide and an earlier expedition with Cabeza de Vaca, Andres Dorantes, and Alonzo del Castillo. These men made the first crossing of the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific north of Mexico. Terrell states that "Estevanico was truly one of the most intrepid, brave, indomitable and accomplished explorers of the New World. And, u p to now, there has been no monument raised to the name of this remarkable man." James W. Marshall, The Discoverer of California Gold. A Biography. By T H E R E S S A GAY. (Georgetown, California: T h e Talisman Press, 1967) This is the first definitive biography of James W. Marshall, the discoverer of California gold. I t is a book rich in the details of California history, ranging across a wide variety of subjects. The central event in Marshall's life — the gold discovery — is appropriately the high point of this biography. But the years preceding and following the discovery are likewise filled with drama. Following the gold discovery Marshall was much persecuted and maligned.
287
Reviews and Publications Charges appeared in the public prints that Marshall was not the discoverer of gold. T h e pension voted him by the California State Legislature was eventually revoked because of malicious stories circulated about him. T h e startling and world-shaking discovery he made was to bring him little honor and less riches. T h e last years of his life he was lonely and neglected — history had passed him by. But with his death a continuing eulogy began that continues to this day, much of it based on myth and a careless regard for fact. This biography, in preparation by the author for over thirty years, is constructed upon a vast framework of careful research. All of Marshall's life is carefully detailed here, based upon primary and secondary source materials. Utah's Geography and Counties. By WARD J. ROYLANCE. (Salt Lake City: Ward J. Roylance, 1967) Combining material found in two booklets previously published, Ward Roylance has produced a single booklet which contains a wealth of statistics, and comparative data on Utah's geography, natural resources, and economy. This up-to-date information is invaluable for any research library or any teacher of Utah history. Possessing numerous maps and charts, Utah's Geography and Counties gives an excellent graphic presentation of the textual information assembled by Mr. Roylance. Once again, the author has rendered a real service to teachers and students of U t a h history by gathering together into one publication numerous data from a multitude of sources. Bibliography of Utah Botany and Wildland Conservation. By E A R L M. C H R I S T E N S E N . ( P r o v o : Brigham Young University, 1967) Cannon
Family
Historical
Treasury.
Edited by BEATRICE C A N N O N EVANS and
JANATH
RUSSELL
CANNON.
(Salt Lake City: George Cannon Family Association, 1967) George Romney,
Mormon
in Politics.
By CLARK R. M O L L E N H O F F .
York: Old
Greenwood:
West.
(New
Meredith Press, 1968) By
Pathfinder
ALEXANDER
L.
of the CROSBY.
(Georgetown, California: T h e Talisman Press, 1967) [Based upon the book by Charles Kelly and Dale L. Morgan] The Utah Woolley Family: Descendants of Thomas Woolley and Sarah Coppock of Pennsylvania, with brief notices of other families of the name. Compiled by PRESTON WOOLLEY PAR-
KINSON. (Salt Lake City: Woolley Parkinson, 1967)
Preston
ARTICLES OF INTEREST American History Illustrated — I I I , April 1968: " T h e Battle of Pierre's Hole," by G. D E R E K W E S T , 11-17
The American West — V, J a n u a r y 1968: "Why I Wrote Solidarity Forever [I WW]," by R A L P H CHAPLIN with an
introduction
by BRUCE
LEROY,
19ff. _ March 1968: "Plains Indian Painting, T h e History and Development of an American Art Form," by J O H N C. E W E R S , 4ff.; "Water, Land,
and People in the Great Valley — Is It True T h a t What We Learn from History Is T h a t We Learn Nothing from History? [irrigation]," by PAUL S. TAYLOR, 24ff. — May 1968: " T h e
Mexican W a r : Climax of Manifest Destiny," by DAVID LAVENDER, 48-64
Arizona and the West: A Quarterly Journal of History — I X , Winter 1967: " T h e Mormons in the Mountain West, A Selected Bibliography," edited
by T H O M A S
G.
ALEXANDER
and JAMES B. A L L E N , 365-84
Brigham Young University Studies: A Voice for the Community of L.D.S. Scholars — Will, Winter 1968:
Utah Historical Quarterly
288 "Authority Conflicts in the Mormon
West," by T H O M A S G. ALEXANDER,
Battalion," by E U G E N E E. CAMPBELL,
48-54; " T h e Newlands Reclamation Project: Years of Innocence, 1903-
127-42 Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought — I I , Winter 1967: "Brigham H . Roberts: Notes on a Mormon Philosopher-Historian," by STERLING M . M C M U R R I N , 141-49 — I I I ,
Spring 1968: "Mormon Architecture Today [informal group discussion focused on some of the themes in Mormon theology and thought which might serve as "lamps" in the creation of meaningful and compatible "Mormon Architecture"]," discussion by DONALD BERGSMA, RONALD M O L E N , FRANKLIN T . FERGUSON, ALBERT L. C H R I S T E N S E N , and PAUL G. SALIS-
BURY, 16-27; " T h e Accommodation of M o r m o n i s m a n d Politico-Economic Reality," by J. K E N N E T H DAVIES, 42-54
The Explorers Club: Explorers Journal — X L V , December 1967: " T h e 1954 Navajo Canyon Expedition," by CARL I. W H E A T , 249-62
mation]," by O T T I S PETERSON, 84-95
Missouri Historical Review — L X I I , January 1968: " T h e Army of Israel M a r c h e s i n t o Missouri [Zion's C a m p ] , " by WARREN A. J E N N I N G S ,
107-35 — April 1968: "Friedrich Adolph Wislizenus: From Student Rebel to Southwestern Explorer," by DOUGLAS D . H A L E , J R . , 260-85
Montana: The Magazine of Western History — X V I I I , January 1968: "Cyrus Dallin: Master Sculptor of the Plains Indian," by J O H N C. EWERS, 34-43 — A p r i l 1968: " T h e Galpin Journal: Dramatic Record of An Odyssey of Peace," edited by Louis PFALLER, 2 - 2 3 ; "Kit Carson and the Navajo Expedition," by RICHARD C. H O P K I N S , 52-61
The Indian Historian—1, Spring 1968: "The Dine — Apache de Navajo, T h e Centennial Year," 6; "Navajo-U.S. Treaty of June 1, 1868, T h e Complete Text," 35-37 The Journal of American History, formerly The Mississippi Valley Historical Review — L I X , December 1967: "The Mormons as a Theme in Western Historical Writing," by RODMAN W. PAUL, 511-23
Journal of the West — V I I , January 1968: [entire volume is devoted to irrigation, conservation, and reclamation] " T h e West Will Always Be Distinctive," by STEWART L. UDALL,
4 - 5 ; "Indian and Spanish WaterControl on New Spain's Northwest Frontier," by J O H N Q. R E S S L E R , 1 0 -
17; "William E. Smythe:
1907," by M A R Y E L L E N G L A S S , 5 5 -
63; "Living History at Lee's Ferry," by W. L. R U S H O , 6 4 - 7 5 ; " T h e Story of a Bureau [U.S. Bureau of Recla-
Irrigation
Crusader," by MARTIN E. CARLSON,
41—47; " T h e Powell Irrigation Survey and the People of the Mountain
Nevada Highways and Parks—27, Winter 1967: "They Stayed Chinese [pioneers from China]," by LILLIAN N. N I N N I S ,
14ff.
Nevada Historical Society Quarterly — X, Winter 1967: "Diary of S. M. Jamison, 1850 [Salt Lake Cutoff]," 3-26 The Pacific Historian: A Quarterly from the University of the Pacific — 11, Fall 1967: "By Parlor C a r (1877) Across the Great American Desert: second section of a perceptive travelogue," by ISAAC M . W I S E , 17-27 —
12, Winter 1968: " N e w ' L i g h t on Ashley & Jedediah Smith," by DALE L. MORGAN, 14-22
Pacific Historical Review — X X X V I , November 1967: " T h e Impact of the Cold W a r on the Economies of California and Utah, 1946-1965," by JAMES L. CLAYTON, 449-73
1969 CENTENNIAL PUBLICATIONS Next year two enlarged issues of the Utah Historical Quarterly should hold interest for a wide audience because 1969 marks two centennial events of great significance to Utah and the nation. On January 4, 1969, the first issues of the Golden Spike Centennial book will go on sale. These will be provided to all Society members as the first issue of the 1969 Quarterly. But other persons should be interested in this centennial issue, for it will contain one of the best possible presentations of the building of the transcontinental railroad and what it meant to the development of the West. Several well-known authors are submitting articles for this issue. The second enlarged issue will be devoted to the theme of John Wesley Powell and his contributions to the understanding and development of the West. This issue also will automatically be delivered to Society members, but will be published in a larger quantity to supply the demand for information during the Powell centennial on Powell and the Colorado River region. Once again, prominent authors are submitting articles for inclusion in this John Wesley Powell book.
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