Legislative Session
The legislative session had been scheduled to begin on January 12, 1885, but due to delays in member's arrivals the session was unable to form a quorum till January 19 in the House and January 21 in the Council. Among the first problems befalling the session was dealing with travel expenses. The detours taken to avoid flooding on the Salt River resulted in the members from Pima County requesting US$330 each for the 2,200 miles (3,500 km) journey to and from Prescott. To this was added a claim by F.K. Ainsworth, a resident of Prescott, for US$225 in travel expenses under the belief he could claim a journey from any point in the territory he represented. In an effort to keep expenses under the US$25,960 authorized by the U. S. Congress for the session, Territorial Treasurer H. M. Van Arman decided to only pay members their four dollar per diem for days they actually served in the session. The legislatures compensated for this limitation by consuming a greater volume of stationery and other supplies than had been budgeted for.
During the session there were several instances of legislative violence, both within the halls of government and the nearby saloons. One such instance occurred when Council member W. C. Bridwell struck a lobbyist for the Arizona Copper Company, resulting in a bloody nose and broken glasses for the lobbyist. The lobbyist responded by challenging Bridwell to a duel. The two men were separated by mutual friends before they could decide upon appropriate weapons. Another instance involved a feud fought with bullwhip and a monkey wrench.
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