The political maelstrom that took place during Governor Zulick's administration is probably best represented by the fact that he was in a Mexican jail at the time of his appointment to the governorship. He was held there until his New Jersey and Sonora Copper Mines paid debts owed to the Mexican government. President Cleveland had to send M.T. Donovan to sneak him across the border and into the Arizona Territory.
He was born June 3, 1838 in Easton, Pennsylvania to Anthony Zulick and Jane Martha Cummings. He was educated by private tutors at Minerva Hall. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in June of 1860 and took active part in Stephen Douglas's run for the presidency later that same year. He was appointed adjutant to the 2nd Division of Colored Volunteers during the Civil War. Later a service disability resulted in his discharge from the army and he returned to Newark, New Jersey where he began his mining company, the New Jersey and Sonora Mining Company. He was appointed to the governorship of Arizona on May 5, 1885.
He faced a plundered treasury as a result of the "thieving thirteenth" legislature. Most of his administration was spent managing Indian Problems. Local settlers were threatening to attack the San Carlos Indian Reservation when Governor Zulick issued a proclamation to help subside the attackers, "...no wrong was ever corrected by sacrificing right". His proclamation was successful in avoiding bloodshed. He wanted to cut the reservations in half to make room for new immigrants and open lands for mining. A depression occurred under his administration due to the low prices of copper and silver.
Governor Zulick announces the end to the Indian Wars on March 10, 1887. He established an upper limit placed on the territorial debt. He encouraged canal building and water irrigation with such projects as the Arizona Canal, in the Glendale area, dam building, and the expansion of the Salt River Project. He wanted the repeal of an 1885 law that disenfranchised Mormons due to their religious beliefs. Zulick demands new apportionments of the legislature, and federal school lands, all of which could only be achieved through statehood.
He advocated statehood by the introducion of Public Act no. 59 which called for a constitutional convention. He felt that territorial status was the same as being a colony of the United States because it had no representation. He signed the order that moved the capital from Prescott to Phoenix on January 26, 1889. Prescott and Northern Arizonans were enraged at the move and publicly denounced the governor for it.
Zulick made many changes in the law, but was hampered by the fact previous administrative appointments refused to leave office because of his shady reputation. "Stock and Sanitary" laws were passed to
stop rustling and protect livestock. The Heliograph system was established, and helped in the capture of Geronimo. Geronimo was sent to Florida by General Nelson Miles, supposedly
to return in 12 years, but never did. 12 new school districts were established
bringing the total to 130 in the territory. He was removed from office
in 1889 and settled on a farm in Maricopa County near Phoenix. He was a
member of the 16th Territorial Legislature in November 1890. He was on the
Corporations, Ways and Means, Military and Indian Affairs, Memorials and
Petitions, and Federal Regulation Committees. He died in Ashbury Park,
New Jersey on March 2, 1926. He is buried in Easton Cemetery, Easton Pennsylvania.
Information from two sources:
Wagoner, Jay J. Arizona Territory, 1863-1912; a political history. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1970
Goff, John S. Arizona
Territorial Officials Volume 2. Arizona Black Mountain
Press, Cave Creek, 1975
Chapter 7
Websites
Prescott, Arizona Days Past Territorial Gov. Conrad Zulick had share of trouble
http://www.prescottaz.com/pdc/dayarc/9797.htm
www.prescottaz.com/pdc/dayarc/91497.htm
Political Graveyard
http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/zimmermann-zywicki.html#RKO0T75WN
Books/Manuscripts
Democratic misrule in Arizona: Governor Zulick's
administration [an administration of corruption and abuse of public confidence
in Arizona: demagogues exposed] By Truth.
F811
.D46x
Biography of Meyer Zulick.
FB SACKS 59/4
