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Show 14 Tooele Transcript, Friday, February Faces , 1979 i i i i- Profiles : V. 1 One Hundred Years Ago Peoples Party And Liberals Fought It Out Time Now Out Iota I elected officials are safely nwxmrJ in nlke, am) with MiUr elections Americas system of providing us with a smooth-runningusenimnit, it is interesting to mite Out smh changes dul mil nut wsitlily in the history of Tooele Coug nty. In fad, it was exactly 100 years ago that the curtain came down on the final art of an tuilielirvalile political drama, INTERESTING acvmuit of a foeir years from 1S74 to 1878 y wlien this section of the then I'tah was known as the Tooele Republic. arars in "History of Tooele (anility iimlrr the authorship of George AN trriod TIIK 1JBERAL Party was formed by the mineis who felt they should I entitled to some representation in county politics. Tripp says a delegation of mineis met with memliers of the local People's Party, and the group deckled to nui a Literal, as sheriff of the county on a general ticket. Everyone concerned seemed to lie in harmonious agreement until the state officers of the Peoples Party interfer-rerequesting that a special county meeting lie called, to reconsider running Mr. Lynch for sheriff on the general if Ter-ntor- TApp. Emm 1SI9 when the first settlers to triikle into the area until )Vi2 when prospecting for precious minerals Ugan to iay off and mining catnw grew up into cities such as Mor-imStockton, Ojsliir and Jacob City immigrants were the only residents in the county. Tripp renirts that hv 1974. the population was almost evenly divided the original settlers and the newly arrived miners. The political hierarchy was matlc up strictly of memliers of the Peoples Party. la-ga-n d, George S. Woods, governor of the I'tah Territory also supported the miners making several sjieeches in their thmughosrt the coimtv. A(XX)RDING to the Tooele County History" account, arrangements were made with the stages which ran Utahs capital city and the mining camps. . . to carry free, all persons agree! ig to vote for Utieral Party candidates in the coming election. Arrangements were also made at singling places along the route to provide free drinks for the thirsty voters . . . Voters came from as far as Corrinne, . the wild, Burg-othe Bear in Rux Elder County, to do their hit for the I .literals. Hie Peoples Party countered by getting out the highest percentage of voters in the county, hut they were tumble to match the volume of ballots cast by the opposition. wide-open- ticket." The upshot was that the group reluctantly agreed to remove the literals name from the ticket, with the result that the miners, feeling betrayed, swore revenge and, according to Tripp, immediately liegan laying plans to enable them to take political control of the cosuit y. THEY WERE aliened in their strategy by an act of the Utah Territorial Legislature of 1859 defining requirements for the voting franchise that a person must have been a resident of I'tah Territory for six months. Tripp said, loosely interpreted it could he argued that nearly everyone in Utah Territory was eligible to vote in Tooele Cosmty's elect ions. - Jus' Talkin' by Margaret VanNoy door facilities. TO ADD TO MY neurosis, I was appointed chief engineer in charge of disposal. in which there is only one bathroom. shudder to think what our marriage would be like if we had two or even one and a half. (Im really not even sure what that wonderful term half I Not wanting to be seen by the neighbors, I always waited until after dark to trudge out to the privy with my burden. In the line of duty I had means.) But Im getting ahead of my story. Now its my tum to talk about bathrooms. It is really a very apropos subject for me. All my life I have suffered from a thing about bathrooms. The term for it was neurosis. Later it was trauma, low ego, inferiority complex, low self esteem, and now its a syndrome. Whatever the name, I am afflicted with a case of bathroom privation. WHATEVER AILS ME, either physically or mentally, be it athletes foot or chapped lips, can be traced to ' one source - bathroom syndrome. As a cure for hiccups or acne I am sent away to a motel or hotel where I can have that part of the accommodations all to myself - to a tub of luxurious water up to my ears, mirrors in which only my face appears, a toothbrush untouched by human hands, other plumbing containing no soaking diapers with no one pounding on the door shouting How long are you gonna be? The syndrone has its roots deep in my earliest childhood when I was bom to parents who, according to the results of the survey, must have had an ecstati- cally happy union - no bathroom at all. In those days accommodations normally found in the bathroom consisted of a tin tub (for Saturday night), a wash basin for hands, face, neck and ears which also served for something termed by my mother a spit bath for -- many nocturnal adventures, all of which added to my trauma, including one in which a skunk and I circled each other warily under the clotheslines. But thats another sfory. Its no wonder I became the candidate for a head shrinkers couch. Bom on the wrong side of the tracks in a small rural village in which most of us lived below the poverty level, I envied my uptown cousins and my grandparents all of whom were accommodated indoors. I AT MY GRANDMOTHERS, used to run my hand lovingly over the smooth gleaming surfaces praying that my hands would be dirty, or that the urge would strike me. Although my feet did not reach the floor, and I was awed by the force of the flush, it was heaven compared to the outside room at home with the Sears Roebuck catalog hanging from a string. No one who has not been through it knows the terror of a small child suspended 20 feet over a seemingly bottomless pit with nothing to save one except the strength of his own small arms. Part of the syndrome is the memory of what should have been the triumphant day that we became a one bathroom family. It was spoiled by a visiting cousin who outran me as the last pipe was connected in place, washed his hands, flushed the john and rinsed his feet in the new tub thereby denying me the status of being the first to use the new wonders. m44 'BANK mrnwm :rmm tttttT' rv ak of the newly elected Lilieral candidate for the office of proliate judge when he appeared to take his seat. Representatives of both parties for Salt lake to seek help for their cause. On their return, the delegation representing the Peoples Party learned that in their altsence, the deputy marshall had taken possession of the county recorder's office. According to the historical account, a memlier of the People's Party then met with the new deputy marshall and offered to show him around the county. During his alisence, the memliers of the People's Party moved in and took possession of the recorder's office and the records. Having the law on their side, the Literals appealed their case to the Third District Court and a posse was sent to Tooele to take possession of the ViT. em-Iwri- ls says that one by one Peoples Party selectmen were "ousted on technicalities and replaced by Ulierals, leaving the miners free to fun the county as thev saw fit. AN ACT BY the 1878 Utah Territorial Legislature came to the rescue of the People's Party. The act called for every voter to present an affidavit of his qualifications showing stability It's a great life of domicile. A check of the registration books showed only 250 Liberals who were registered to vote. People's Party memliers worked to get out the vote, on August 16, 1878 both groups fathered at the court house to hear the county clerk announce the election re- IN SPITE OF photographic proof that 980 illegal votes had been cast, the 3rd District Court Judge declared the Liberal Party the victor. But the judge and selectmen of the court (all memlters of the People's Party) refused to accept the credenti- - $ week day ablutions, plus a cosy, enameled utensil picturesquely dubbed the slop jar which served for those who wished not to make the long journey outside and down the path to the out- 00 office. ! Nowadays every columnist talks about bathrooms. Its no wonder - If fayoure writing about a family, any its and with downs, its joys ups mily and frustrations, there has to be a bathroom somewhere, probably plum in the middle of the whole affair. A RECENT STUDY proved that the happiest marriages occur in homes HOTEL paws When I married, I thought my frustrations would end Little did I realize it was a matter of out of the frying pan into the fire. IF YOU SHOULD mention bathroom problems to my spouse, his comment would be, What problems? I dont have any problem getting into the bathroom. Hes right. It is his wife and children who have the problem. A mans home is his castle, and the bathroom is part of the eminent domain. Whenever father wants in the bathroom, its out for everyone else. . Every morning, rain or shine, he disappears into the bathroom for an hour. There ought to be a clause in the marriage ceremony that says, love, honor and share the bathroom. In sickness and in health, regardless of the circumstances be it morning sickness, intestinal flu, the pitious cries of children, or an eight oclock class, no matter, he emerges one hour later, showered, shaved, brushed and polished as turns. But the Literals were not giving up the reins of government without a st niggle, and the clerk refused to count the ballots. Of course the district court ordered the ballots to be counted. Not to be outmaneuvered, the PeoHOWEVER THE Liberals appealples Party hid all the county records and refused C give them up. ed and were able to delay action until TRIPPS March of 1879 when a higher court upACCOUNT describes what happened next: tension among held the district courts action. the county residents had reached an Once again the Literals dominated almost unbearable pitch. Some memcounty court, in a last ditch effort, bers of each faction were armed. . . made and passed the following motion Violence threatened to erupt any minquoted by Tripp: On account of inute. A meeting with the leaders of both , sufficiency of what reports to be returns factions failed to bring about a comfrom all precincts of this county, we promise. reject all the returns except those from Ophir and Lakeview precincts and deWhen things looked blackest, a clare them. messenger arrived from Brigham Young A total of 108 votes had been cast in Salt Lake advising the people to in the two precincts giving the Uber-al- s abide by the decision of the court and a majority of from 18 to 26 ballots. to recognize the Liberals as victors of Tripp says: This manipulation of balthe county election. lot counting was the final straw as far as the Peoples Party was concerned. Back they went to the district court in protest. The court ordered that all legal ballots cast be counted, and the results made public. IT WAS eight months after the 1878 election, in March of 1879, that the reign of the Liberals Tooele Republic finally came to an end.. A postscript by Tripp sums up statistics in the wake of the Liberal dominated reign: script of the county fell 90 percent in value; a $2,000 surplus Although the Peoples Party conwas replaced with $14,000 indebtedtinued to file official protests against the seating of Liberal members, by 1875 ness; and of $51,000 spent during the Lberal incumbency, $2,500 worth of the Liberals had complete control of the repairs to the court house was the only of Tooele government County. Tripp discemable benefit. Will It Or Lfe and death Wont It? though he were invited to Buckingham Palace for tea, while I am reduced to blubbering, nail chewing, and to making schedules for children and guests who are cautioned to take your shower tonight. . AND AS OUR one bathroom marriage became happier and happier, I still waited for my tum. How was I to know that (like father, like son,) Bill Ray would spend long, long hours soaking in the tub, or that Robin would also take after her daddy, taller, stronger and able to run father than I. To this day, only Margy will allow me to beat her through the door, gazing reproachfully and pityingly at me so that my precious time is ruined by feelings of guilt. Maybe someday my tum will come. I know one thing. When I get to those pearly gates, Im not going to even mention any mansion - all I ask is a bathroom all my own. Will he or wont he? If the little fellow is smart, he wont stick his head out at all. It all depends on what time of day he gets up in the morning. With weather like ours, the sun is out one minute, and the next minute might see us fogged in or blanketed with snow. As a local sage observed: If the ground hog sees his shadow, it means AT LEAST six more weeks of bad weather; if he doesnt see his shadow, it could mean twelve. Necessary evil - ii Ti |