Saturday, May 03, 2008

 

Herriman Saturday




On February 13 1907 we have a rare Herriman caricature of Teddy Roosevelt -- George very rarely depicted him, choosing instead to concentrate on California matters. Schmitz is Eugene Schmitz, mayor of San Francisco. His life was about to get very interesting in coming months, but we'll cover that once it happens.

On the 15th and 16th Herriman takes aim at California state senator Savage of whom I can find practically no biographical information. The cartoons seem to be contradictory; on the one hand he is shown battling against Harriman's plans to consolidate his railroad holdings, and then depicted as a Harriman operative. I dunno...

On the 17th Herriman switches over to sports, commenting on one of the infamous "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien freak bouts in which he'd take on multiple boxers. Tom McCarey, the promoter who made boxing a big business in California, is the one shown shilling in the middle panel.

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Wrong consolidation, I think, judging from this bio blurb I found...this is the consolidation of LA and San Pedro:

The William H. Savage house is now the Union Baptist Church. It was built around 1904. Savage was born in Ireland in 1836. He came to New York with his family in 1843. At the start of the the Civil War in 1861 he enlisted in the US Marine Corps and fought in several naval battles along the Mississippi. In 1863 he was captured by Confederates near Port Hudson and sent to Libby Prison as a prisoner of war, where he served three months. He was transfered to the Marine Barracks in Washington DC, where he befriended Tad Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln's son. After the Civil War he left the Marines and joined the Army. He was transferred all about the country and served at the Drum Barracks in Wilmington in January 1866. He transfered a few more times and was discharged from the Army in 1872. He returned to Wilmington where he worked on the docks in the day and studied law at night. He was admitted to the bar in Los Angeles in 1879. He and family moved to Bisbee, Arizona in 1880. The following year he was elected to the 12th Legislative Assembly in Arizona. In 1883 he moved to Tombstone, Arizona and was elected District Attorney of Cochise County. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone on October 26, 1881. Savage lived in nearby Bisbee at the time, so it was easy speculate that he was well aware of the circumstance of the gun battle and the aftermath involving Wyatt Earp and his brothers. In 1887, Savage returned to San Pedro, California and practiced law. Later, he became the City Attorney of San Pedro. He was also Justice of the Peace. In 1889 he helped organize San Pedro's first volunteer fire department. In 1900 he was elected to the State Assembly, serving two years. At the end of this term he was elected State Senator and served 8 years in this capacity. For four years he fought hard against the proposed annexation of San Pedro to the big City of Los Angeles. He lost this bout and San Pedro was consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. Savage lived well into his 90s.
 
Ah, I see. Just unfortunate that Herriman happened to use the train imagery in this regard. Thanks Eo!

--Allan
 
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