15th Arizona Territorial Legislature
Encyclopedia
The 15th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature
which began on January 21, 1889, in Prescott, Arizona
, moved to Phoenix
on February 7 and did not adjourn till April 11. The session is known as the "Hold-over Legislature" due to the Republican
majority extending the length of the session past the sixty-day limit prescribed by law.
defeated Grover Cleveland
during the presidential election of 1888
. As the session began it was expected that the incoming President would replace the governor with a member of his own party.
Within the territory, speculation was rife over a possible move of the territorial capital.
Phoenix, which was completing construction of a new city hall large enough to hold the territorial legislature, was viewed as the primary challenger to Prescott's hold on the seat of government.
. Control of federal school lands needed to fund education within the territory were a secondary benefit of statehood. The need for reapportionment of the legislature and John Wesley Powell
's survey of the Grand Canyon
were also covered.
The first issue dealt with by the session was a proposal for the relocation of the territorial capital. To ensure passage of the proposal, the Maricopa County
delegation made arrangements with a prostitute called Kissin' Jenny to delay a Yavapai County
delegate on the day of the vote. The targeted delegate was one of her regular customers. He was also a vain man and the only person in the territory to own a glass eye. The night before the vote he visited Kissin' Jenny's boudoir. At the end of the evening he placed his glass eye into a glass of water and went to sleep. Some time during the night Kissin' Jenny became thirsty and drank the entire contents of the glass. In the morning the delegate discovered his eye was missing and refused to go out into public. His political allies came searching for him and upon finding him learned that Kissin' Jenny was either unable or unwilling to return the eye. With the Yavapai County delegate unwilling to attend the legislative assembly, the bill to move the capital to Phoenix passed by one vote.
Legislative Act No. 1, signed by Governor Zulick on January 26, moved the capital to Phoenix on February 4, 1889.
routed through Los Angeles
; the luxurious mode of transport was chosen in large part due to the railroad
's practice of providing free passes
to the legislators in an effort to avoid laws unfavorable to their interests.
Territorial Secretary James A. Bayard was in turn left with the job of packing and transporting the session's furniture, records, and supplies. By the time the furniture arrived at the new capital it had been damaged to the point of uselessness on the rough roads between Prescott and Phoenix. The session was saved by donations from the new capital's citizens. After the journey, the legislature reconvened on February 7, 1889.
statute, that established the death penalty for train robbery. Other laws prohibited carrying of deadly weapons inside town limits and requiring literacy
in English for territorial office holders.
Other actions taken by the session were transferring the northern section of the Tonto Basin from Yavapai to Gila county
and establishing a $3000 subsidy encouraging development of artesian wells
.
noted, "The Governor has no power of removal, and when appointments have been made by the Governor, whether they shall have been confirmed or not, the incumbents will hold until the next Legislative Assembly convenes, and will also hold over thereafter until successors shall have been nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Council." It was feared that unless the new Governor arrived swiftly there would be no choice but to accept the nominations that had been made by outgoing Governor Zulick for the next two years. If was further feared that unless a Republican majority was elected to the next legislature, future legislatures could refuse to confirm any nominations from any new governor and thus keep Zulck's nominees in office till after President Harrison left office.
On March 14, 1889, Lewis Wolfley
was nominated as Governor of Arizona Territory, receiving Senate confirmation on March 28.
On March 22, the sixtieth day of the session, the Council rejected all of Governor Zulick's nominees and instead of adjourning remained in session. Governor Wolfley arrived in the territory on April 8 with his own list of nominees which the Council quickly approved, ending the session on April 11, 1889.
A second issue was a set of eleven "lost laws" that had been passed by the session but misplaced in a desk drawer without the Governor's signature or veto. The papers containing these laws were found by Acting Governor Oakes Murphy
before the next legislative session and forwarded to that session for reconfirmation.
Arizona Territorial Legislature
The Arizona Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of Arizona Territory. It was a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Council. Created by the Arizona Organic Act, the legislature initially consisted of nine members in...
which began on January 21, 1889, in Prescott, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....
, moved to Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
on February 7 and did not adjourn till April 11. The session is known as the "Hold-over Legislature" due to the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
majority extending the length of the session past the sixty-day limit prescribed by law.
Background
During his term of office, Governor C. Meyer Zulick had experienced steadily declining popularity among the territory's population. He remained secure in his position, however, because he had the President's confidence. This situation changed however when Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
defeated Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
during the presidential election of 1888
United States presidential election, 1888
The 1888 election for President of the United States saw Grover Cleveland of New York, the incumbent president and a Democrat, try to secure a second term against the Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison, a former U.S. Senator from Indiana...
. As the session began it was expected that the incoming President would replace the governor with a member of his own party.
Within the territory, speculation was rife over a possible move of the territorial capital.
Phoenix, which was completing construction of a new city hall large enough to hold the territorial legislature, was viewed as the primary challenger to Prescott's hold on the seat of government.
Legislative session
Governor Zulick delivered his speech to the legislature in writing on the session's first day. In the address he called for Arizona to be granted statehood, calling territorial status the reason for the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Control of federal school lands needed to fund education within the territory were a secondary benefit of statehood. The need for reapportionment of the legislature and John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions...
's survey of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
were also covered.
The first issue dealt with by the session was a proposal for the relocation of the territorial capital. To ensure passage of the proposal, the Maricopa County
Maricopa County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
delegation made arrangements with a prostitute called Kissin' Jenny to delay a Yavapai County
Yavapai County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.3% White*0.6% Black*1.7% Native American*0.8% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*5.0% Other races*13.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
delegate on the day of the vote. The targeted delegate was one of her regular customers. He was also a vain man and the only person in the territory to own a glass eye. The night before the vote he visited Kissin' Jenny's boudoir. At the end of the evening he placed his glass eye into a glass of water and went to sleep. Some time during the night Kissin' Jenny became thirsty and drank the entire contents of the glass. In the morning the delegate discovered his eye was missing and refused to go out into public. His political allies came searching for him and upon finding him learned that Kissin' Jenny was either unable or unwilling to return the eye. With the Yavapai County delegate unwilling to attend the legislative assembly, the bill to move the capital to Phoenix passed by one vote.
Legislative Act No. 1, signed by Governor Zulick on January 26, moved the capital to Phoenix on February 4, 1889.
Relocation of capital
Following passage of the bill to relocate the capital to Phoenix, the session suspended and on January 29, 1889 began the move to the new seat of government. Instead of using stagecoaches to make the trip via the direct route, the delegates instead chose to utilize a pair of Pullman carsPullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
routed through Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
; the luxurious mode of transport was chosen in large part due to the railroad
Railway company
A railway company or railroad company is an entity that operates a railroad track and/or trains. Such a company can either be private or public...
's practice of providing free passes
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
to the legislators in an effort to avoid laws unfavorable to their interests.
Territorial Secretary James A. Bayard was in turn left with the job of packing and transporting the session's furniture, records, and supplies. By the time the furniture arrived at the new capital it had been damaged to the point of uselessness on the rough roads between Prescott and Phoenix. The session was saved by donations from the new capital's citizens. After the journey, the legislature reconvened on February 7, 1889.
Other legislation
Once the legislature got back to business they passed a number of measures. One that attracted significant notice was a law, based upon a similar New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
statute, that established the death penalty for train robbery. Other laws prohibited carrying of deadly weapons inside town limits and requiring literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
in English for territorial office holders.
Other actions taken by the session were transferring the northern section of the Tonto Basin from Yavapai to Gila county
Gila County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*76.8% White*0.4% Black*14.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*5.4% Other races*17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and establishing a $3000 subsidy encouraging development of artesian wells
Artesian aquifer
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. This causes the water level in a well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached. This type of well is called an artesian well...
.
Session extension
As the session drew towards its conclusion, the issue of official appointments came to the forefront. President Harrison was set to be inaugurated on March 4, 1889 and by federal law the assembly was limited to a length of 60 days. The Republican majority was eager to have a governor from their own party appointed so that he could appoint his own slate of nominations of territorial officials. As former Governor TritleFrederick Augustus Tritle
Frederick Augustus Tritle was an American politician, businessman, and attorney. He served as the sixth Governor of Arizona Territory and held a number of lesser government positions there and in Nevada...
noted, "The Governor has no power of removal, and when appointments have been made by the Governor, whether they shall have been confirmed or not, the incumbents will hold until the next Legislative Assembly convenes, and will also hold over thereafter until successors shall have been nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Council." It was feared that unless the new Governor arrived swiftly there would be no choice but to accept the nominations that had been made by outgoing Governor Zulick for the next two years. If was further feared that unless a Republican majority was elected to the next legislature, future legislatures could refuse to confirm any nominations from any new governor and thus keep Zulck's nominees in office till after President Harrison left office.
On March 14, 1889, Lewis Wolfley
Lewis Wolfley
Lewis Wolfley was an American civil engineer who served as the eighth Governor of Arizona Territory. He is commonly regarded as the first territorial governor to be a resident of Arizona at the time of his appointment and was the only bachelor to hold the position.Wolfley's political career was...
was nominated as Governor of Arizona Territory, receiving Senate confirmation on March 28.
On March 22, the sixtieth day of the session, the Council rejected all of Governor Zulick's nominees and instead of adjourning remained in session. Governor Wolfley arrived in the territory on April 8 with his own list of nominees which the Council quickly approved, ending the session on April 11, 1889.
Aftermath
An after effect of the session extending past the 60 day limit was that Arizona Territory gained two sets of territorial officials. The Democratic nominees presented by Governor Zulick refused to relinquish control of buildings and institutions needed for performance of official duties, claiming confirmation of the new Republican appointees had not been legal due to the session running too long. The issue of sorting out the two separate sets of officials went to court, with the Republicans generally prevailing. In July 1890, the last Zulick appointee resigned.A second issue was a set of eleven "lost laws" that had been passed by the session but misplaced in a desk drawer without the Governor's signature or veto. The papers containing these laws were found by Acting Governor Oakes Murphy
Oakes Murphy
Nathan Oakes Murphy was the fourteenth Governor of Arizona Territory.Born in Jefferson, Maine, Murphy attended the public schools.He taught school in Wisconsin....
before the next legislative session and forwarded to that session for reconfirmation.
Members
| House of Representatives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | County | Name | County | |
| C. D. Brown | Yavapai | J. S. O'Brien | Pima | |
| J. J. Chatham | Pima | Samuel Purdy | Yuma | |
| George H Dailey | Cochise | J. V. Rhoades | Yavapai | |
| Louis DePuy | Pinal | John O. Robbins | Cochise | |
| J. L Fisher | Yavapai | F. L. Rogers | Yavapai | |
| Charles Flinn | Apache | John Y. T. Smith (Speaker) | Maricopa | |
| Thomas Halleck | Mohave | J. O. Stanford | Cochise | |
| Grant Hicks | Cochise | George H. Stevens | Graham | |
| J. A. Johnson | Apache | H. B. Tenney | Pima | |
| J. C. Jones | Gila | George P. Thornton | Yavapai | |
| T. C. Jordon | Maricopa | H. D. Underwood | Pima | |
| Louis Martin | Pima | Alexander Wright | Cochise |
| Council | |
|---|---|
| Name | County |
| George W. Cheyney | Cochise Cochise County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*78.5% White*4.2% Black*1.2% Native American*1.9% Asian*0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.0% Two or more races*9.6% Other races*32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| John W. Dorrington | Yuma Yuma County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*70.4% White*2.0% Black*1.6% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*20.8% Other races*59.7% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| Charles R. Drake (President) | Pima Pima County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| Burt Dunlap | Graham Graham County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.1% White*1.8% Black*14.4% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.3% Other races*30.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| W. H. Hardy | Mohave Mohave County, Arizona Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman... |
| George W. Hoadley | Southern District |
| J. M. W. Moore | Yavapai Yavapai County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.3% White*0.6% Black*1.7% Native American*0.8% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*5.0% Other races*13.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| L. H. Orme | Northern District |
| George T. Peter | Gila Gila County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*76.8% White*0.4% Black*14.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*5.4% Other races*17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| E. J. Simpson | Apache Apache County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*23.3% White*0.2% Black*72.9% Native American*0.3% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| Richard E. Sloan Richard Elihu Sloan Richard Elihu Sloan was a United States Republican politician, who held the distinction of being the last Territorial Governor of Arizona.... |
Pinal Pinal County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.4% White*4.6% Black*5.6% Native American*1.7% Asian*0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*11.5% Other races*28.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
| S. F. Webb | Maricopa Maricopa County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:... |
- The Northern District was composed of Apache, Maricopa, Mohave, Yuma, and Yavapai counties, while the Southern District encompassed Cochise, Gila, Graham, Pima, and Pinal counties.