Oral History Program Arthur P. Brown Interviewed by Lowell Curtis 19 May 1971 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Arthur P. Brown Interviewed by Lowell Curtis 19 May 1971 Copyright © 2012 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in University Archives. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Brown, Arthur P., an oral history by Lowell Curtis, 19 May 1971, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Arthur P. Brown. The interview was conducted on May 19, 1971, by Lowell Curtis. Brown discusses his experiences as a Weber County Commissioner, with the Weber County Memorial Hospital, with the Welfare Department, and at Hill Field. He also discusses federal ownership of land in Utah. LC: Have you lived in Utah all your life? AB: Yes, I was born in Ogden. LC: I understand that you were a member of the Weber County Commission. What years did you serve? AB: I served in 1941 and ‘42, then I was out four years. I returned in January of 1947 and I was there until January of 1965. I served for 18 years. LC: Which ticket did you run on? AB: The Democratic ticket. LC: Are there any interesting aspects of your administration that are more important to you, and that you felt did mere for the county than anything else, AB: Well there are quite a few things that we did while I was there. We purchased the Buck Anderson ranch in South Fork; we acquired the North Park recreation area. But the one I think the one that is the most lasting would be the new Weber County Memorial Hospital which was built in Roy, replacing the old county infirmary and in my opinion it's a real asset to the county, 1 LC: Which area in the county did you supervise or work over? AB: Well I worked for 8 years on the roads in construction and I knew all the roads in Weber County and I naturally favored the roads, but I also had the Welfare Department, and worked as Commissioner of Welfare for a number of years, and I was a Commissioner of the Weed Department. When I was a commissioner we divided the county into three departments. One commissioner was in charge of roads, one commissioner was in charge of welfare and one in charge of building. LC: How closely did you work with the State Road Commission? AB: We had good relations with the State Road Commission and never had any trouble with them. LC: Has the welfare system, in your own eyes, changed much in the 25 years that you have been involved in county affairs? AB: Yes, I feel it has changed. Welfare when it was first put in was for a good purpose, but there is always someone who wants to horn in on something and get something for nothing, but we didn't have too much trouble with it. We worked closely with the State Welfare Department. LC: Can you recall what it was like as a county commissioner back in 1941 and World War II? Was there any specific thing that the Federal Government asked you to do as a county commissioner? AB: Well when I went into the county commission in 1941 it was a new experience for me so there were problems that came up, but we didn't have any particular problems, of course there were restrictions placed on the people because of the war, but when the 2 Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor we were called into an emergency meeting to talk things out, but we got by all right. LC: Were you primarily involved with the restrictions placed on the people? Such as sugar and gasoline? AB: No, we had a person that was head of that area; I think it was called the ration board. LC: Did you notice any difference in Weber County from when you were in the commission in 1941 and ‘42 as when you went back in 1947? AB: Yes, Weber County had grown quite a bit, and having those two years previous experience it helped me out quite a bit. LC: I know one thing Weber County is concerned about is the military complex that has built up around this area. Were you in the county commission when any military complex came to the county? AB: Well I was here when the Hill Field came in, and I was here when 2nd street came in. The county co-operated with them. When I was with the commission and worked with the roads we nut a hard surface up to the arsenal, as it was then. We had an agreement with then to do some services and they would return the favor. Our fire department was available to them and they were available to us if we needed them. LC: I suppose Hill Field has grown quite a bit since it came to Utah. How much? AB: Oh yes, it has grown an awful lot. When it was first up there, it had only a few buildings. LC: When did Hill Field come into the county? Was it before or after the war? 3 AB: Well I believe it was in 1947 because that was the centennial for our state. When 2nd street came in we helped with their roads and wherever we could. LC: What about tax relief? When the government came in did it help with funds, impacted aid funds for education, and others? Did you notice any surplus in funds? AB: No, when the government comes in there is no taxes on the money that comes in. And when the government comes in there are more people that pay taxes . Well, the National Convention was held all over the country. I went to Cincinnati, Phoenix, New York. The national convention for county officials is held all over. LC: Do you think the Western states play a more predominate role than do the Eastern states, on a commission such as this? AB: Well, I don't know whether the western states plays a more predominate role or not, but the government owns a bigger percent of the Western states than in the east. I think it's 73% that the government owns in Utah. The people in the east didn't have the problems that we do out here. With 73% owned by the government there are no taxes on it. LC: As a county commissioner did the federal or state government try to influence you follow any particular avenue concerning a project or idea concerning the government? AB: As you know the government has rules and regulations whenever they have anything going with the state or county that you have to live up to. I don't remember them coming in and saying that you ought to do this or this, however when we began building the new hospital out here we borrowed some money from the government out here and they started coming around and saying that we should do this and this and this. We felt that the government was coming in and telling us what to do when they were only putting up 4 a small part of the money. When we met with the state on this the government represent told us that when the government loans money they do so because they expect certain things to be done and by doing what they suggested, we find that we have a better institution than what we would have if we hadn't listened. In that situation we were very happy to be given all the help we could because we were inexperienced in building medical centers and the governments experience paid off. LC: What are your ideas concerning duplication of services? Such as fire services that the COUNty provides and that the city provides? Also police efforts. Do you think we should do away with all these duplications? AB: I'm not particularly sold on this metropolitan form of government, one reason why is the road commission. You see the city has its crew out every day working and the county has its crew out working every day, now which one are you going to lay off? The city can't go out and do the counties work and the county can't do the cities work. Now there are certain departments that could be joined together, but I don't think they should consolidate the whole thing. LC: Do you think that the power of the county commissioner has decreased and sort of fallen to the state and federal government? AB: I feel that there is a sort of a spirit of centralizing power. I don't feel it's a good idea to concentrate too much power to too few hands. I do feel that since I came into county government in 1941 we are beginning to lean this way a lot more. 5