A trade union declared that all city officials were crooks and should be ousted so the local government could begin anew. They weren't too happy with county officials either, but weren't proposing a clean sweep there.
From the Arizona Daily Star, Friday, July 21, 1916:
ALL CITY OFFICIALS CROOKS SAY UNIONS, DECLARING WAR
Trades Council to Rescue city From Disgrace—Aftermath of Row Over City Hall Contract—“Vice Versa” Threat Is Recalled
Charging that all city officials are crooks, and that some of the county officials are no better, the Tucson Central Trades Council is fostering a political movement to oust all such officials, specifically, the organizers of the movement charge that city officials regard the offices which they hold as means of grafting from the city treasury.
The organization of the “Taxpayers League” follows the recent declaration of war upon members of the council for refusing to reconsider their action in awarding the contract for the construction of the city hall to Crowell, a Los Angeles contractor, the lowest bidder by several thousand dollars. The alleged refusal of the contractor to employ union labor is the basis of the trades council’s enmity toward the council.
In one of the communications to the city council, the trades council said: “We remember our friends and VICE VERSA.” Apparently, the trades council is now getting ready to turn on the “vice versa.”
IN ROLL OF RESCUERS
The avowed object of the “Taxpayers’ League” is to rescue the city from the disgrace into which it has fallen. this condition of affairs, say the crusaders, arose while the citizens of the city have not been looking. While good people generally were absorbed in private pursuits, the city administration has been left to the “tender mercies of the professional politicians” whose apparent object is only to benefit themselves and those who have helped them into office.
Until the trades council jumped into the breech, “clean and decent citizens have felt a repugnance to enter into the kind of politics that generally prevail,” say the resolutions, announcing a local Armageddon. And so it happened, they say, that the administration of public affairs has been turned over to men who seem to look upon public office as a means “for private gain and aggrandizement.” The resolutions stop short of naming the guilty officials and the amount of the graft.
PLAY ALL PARTIES
The organization, the “Taxpayers’ League” will play all parties. The object of the league, in a word, is to purify politics. It proposes to oust the professionals and install the amateurs, or rather citizens chosen for their ability instead of professional cleverness in political manipulation, and after the league has elected them it will keep an eye on them to see that they do not do anything they should not do—if a mistake should be made and the wrong man elected.
A new “movement” was born Thursday night and a committee is now conducting an active campaign for members. Anyone who is politically pure in heart is qualified to join. The field of activity of the organization will be local, it is announced.
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We are not so sure about local governments, but there are times we would advocate a clean sweep of both houses of Congress in Washington, D.C.
In other news, that newfangled machine, the automobile, was gaining attention and a count was made.
7318 Automobiles In Arizona; 2785 Fords
A complete list of motor vehicle statistics is contained in the recent report of Secretary of State Osborn just made public. The total number of vehicles registered in 1915 is 7318 an increase of more than 2200 over the previous year. Of this humber 6851 are gasoline motor cars, 22 are electric cars, 435 are trucks, and 405 motorcycles.
Fees for automobile licenses aggregate $40,909.50 the total fees received being $45,579.00. In the motor registration Ford cars lead with a total of 2785. Studebakers are next with a total of 702, Overlands are third with a total of 627, and Buicks are fourth at 540. Maxwells total 304 and Hupmobiles 259. there are 117 Chalmers and 122 Hudsons. Cadillacs number 237.
Maricopa county has the most motor vehicles, 2571; Cochise is second with 1216, and Pima is third with 754.
