Tucson Gamblers and Saloon Keepers make donation for Mental Institution
August 22, 2007
Post Tags: arizona_state_university , mental_institution , Tucson-gamblers-and-saloon-keepers , university_of_arizona , wikipedia
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The Story as it might appear in a Tucson Newspaper in 1885.
The Tucson Association of Gamblers and Saloon Keepers today made a donation of land for the building of a mental institution in Tucson. It is possible the number of town drunks were escalating along with an ever burgeoning population.
With an unpleasant dose of reality threaten to infringe upon the public debauchery it was decided the Gamblers and Saloon Keepers should pass the hat, take up a collection, buy and donate land for a mental institution which would then help keep the image of the saloons from becoming to serious and impeding the party atmosphere which freed farmers and cowboys from their money.
When it was revealed the money would actually be used for a University instead of a Mental institute the Gamblers and Saloon Keepers were even more excited reasoning “It is even easier to get students to part with their money than farmers and cowboys.”
That makes for a pretty interesting story.
Here is the way it is recorded at Wikipedia on the founding of the University of Arizona.
The University of Arizona was approved by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1885. Ironically, the city of Tucson had hoped to receive the appropriation for the territory’s mental hospital, which carried a sum of money slightly larger than the $25,000 allotted to the territory’s only university (the antecedent to Arizona State University was also chartered in 1885, but it was created as Arizona’s normal school, and not a university).
Tucson, having a smaller contingent of legislators than cities like Prescott and Phoenix, was granted last priority and was awarded the university, which disappointed many city residents. With no parties willing to step forth and provide land for the new institution, the citizens of Tucson prepared to return the money to the Territorial Legislature until two gamblers and a saloon keeper decided to donate the land necessary to build the school.
So funding for a Mental Institution was desired, instead funding for a “Normal” school was appropriated and the two gamblers and a saloon keeper donated 40 acres of land so the school could be built. Nice to know the Gamblers and Saloon Keepers Association had the forethought to realize a University was a good thing, while the Politicians wanted to build a “Mental Institute” because it would bring in more money from the State.
Maybe what we need in Tucson today is a good Gamblers and Saloon Keepers Association to provide forethought and guidance for the future of Tucson instead of Politicians fighting with each other and looking for money from the State.
All that is required is a few facts about this and that, put them together in a manner that will be interesting, but not factual, and before you know it there is a great “News” story born. Does it contain some truth? Yep. Is it true? Nope. Was this a lot of fun to write? Yep.
