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Arizona History
What brought Meyer to Phoenix in 1883 isn't reported in the sources, but he quickly became involved in politics. A Republican, he was chosen as a delegate to the Territorial Convention in 1884. His popularity may have been responsible for his selection by Wells Fargo to become their Phoenix agent the same year. Operating from the firm's office at Central and Washington streets, he soon had the express company serving as a travel agency as well as a transportation firm. When his firm began to offer a free delivery service to its patrons in 1885, Meyer was given much of the credit for the new service by the Phoenix Herald Newspaper. Good publicity of that type suggested a political career. Running for the position of city treasurer in 1885, he was easily elected. He defeated his nearest opponent E. Brent Kirkland by the lopsided margin of 338 votes. Kirkland only received 53. The position provided Meyer with much information about the business community, which he put to his advantage by publishing "Meyer's Business Directory of the city of Phoenix" three years later. It was a profitable venture that listed the costs of railroad fares and other expenses affecting commercial activities in the young, growing city. By then, Meyer was the married father of two children and the owner of property in both Phoenix and Mesa. In addition to serving as the city treasurer, he was also the local agent for the Hamburg American Packet Company, which crossed the Atlantic; agent for the Arizona Stage Company; the Wells Fargo firm; and the Tempe and McDowell Stage Line. As one of the town's popular citizens, Meyer decided that politics offered further opportunity. He ran for mayor of Phoenix and was elected. While in that position, he was active in the successful effort to move the territorial capital from Prescott to Phoenix. Meyer's popularity and success came with its penalties. He became a frequent saloon customer as well as a participant in their roulette and faro games. When a friend found him wandering drunkenly near a canal in 1888, he helped the intoxicated politician reach home safely. By then, the mayor's drinking problem had become common knowledge. When his term as mayor ended in 1889, he sought to continue his political career running for city treasurer, a position he had held several times earlier. He was handed a stinging defeat by Maurice Fleischman who received more than twice as many votes. Soon after his defeat for treasurer, Meyer left Phoenix for the Canadian province of British Columbia. His departure was followed a few days later by a report from Wells Fargo that $3,500, which had been under Meyer's control, was missing. A reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. What caused Meyer to voluntarily surrender isn't reported, but he turned himself in to the authorities in Vancouver. They allowed him to return to San Francisco on a steamer based upon his promise that he would give himself up once he reached the United States. His word proved true, and upon arriving in Phoenix in December of 1889, he was charged with stealing $3,500 from the express company. Tried in a Phoenix court with taking the money, Meyer's weeping wife attended his trial. Her grief had little affect on Judge Kibbey. Finding Meyer guilty, the judge sentenced the former mayor to a term of five years in Yuma's Territorial Prison. With her husband in prison, Mrs. Meyer wrote to acting Territorial Governor Oakes Murphy requesting a pardon on grounds that "her husband's conviction had been brought about by personal enemies." Two Phoenix newspapers, the Herald and the Arizona Gazette, also came to Meyer's defense suggesting a pardon. The governor responded the day of the Herald story on Jan. 10, 1891, by pardoning Meyer. Released from prison, Meyer was reunited with his wife and children. He was fluent in Spanish, and the family moved to Monterrey in Mexico where he became the editor of an English language newspaper. He died there in 1895. Frank Love is a Yuma historian.  |
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