Arizona republican., 1910-03-20
SHORT
 IN DURATION Los Angeles Party Here Bu(
 a Half Hour TIME WAS WELL SPENT
Not a Moment of It Was Wasted Many Viewed the Town and Schools From Automobiles CTS On the Streets

come and gone and their visit here, | though of rather short duration, was a mutually pleasant and profitable one for visitors and Tempe business men alike
 With that brief paragraph the ac-
 count of the visit here will be dis missed for the moment and an at l tempt will be made to explain why the plan as originally outlined by the lTempe Board Of Trade and the Mesa | Chamber of Commerce was not car | ried out. The wreck the first day out of Los Angeles threw the excursionists i just a day behind but further than | that did not materially alter the sche- | dule and until Friday afternoon it was l expected that the auto ride from Mesa ] to Tempe would take place as agreed upon From Friday afternoon. how ever. until late that evening, rumors filled the air. It was first learned | that the visitors would cut Mesa out entirely and give Tempe but a few minutes as they passed through. With i that understanding. the automobile trip was called off and part of the printing that the Tempe organization
 
 Later in the afternoon word was re- seiVed that at very early hour In | the morning the train would arrive at Mesa and at 2 o'clock it would be here | for a thirty minute stop while con flicting rumor was To the effect that the party would remain on the south l side until after nine o'clock. It seem 1 ed impossible to get any information that was of a reliable character. Con sequently the plans of the Tempe committee were thrown hopelessly to the winds Yesterday morning when the people began to gather al the ho- tel between sex and seven o'clock. 1t was found that the special train had gone to Mesa between three and four o'clock When it would be in Tempe no one knew or could find out The crowd did what little it could to pre- pare for the reception of the visitors and prepared to patiently await their arrival.
 During the course of the short stay here Secretary Wiggins was pressed for an explanation of the con ditiOns that so deranged the plans and | made the visit here so much less sat isfactory than it would have otherwise been. He replied that no one connect l ed with the excursion could be held responsible for the various misunder- standings. He stated that on Friday afternoon or evening he had sent a wire to President Cook of the Tempe Board. advising him of the exact plans the visitors had made for visit I ing Tempe and Mesa both yesterday
 morning. This telegram Mir. Cook re- ceived yesterday forenoon about ten o'clock, an hour or so after the visitors
 had departed Where the blame lies
 has not been learned. but this expla-
 nation should absolve Mir. Wiggins
 and others of the party from any re- sponsibility in the matter.
 I It was twenty minutes of nine when
 the special train rolled in from Mesa and came to a stop at the old Mill Avenue station. The visitors were
 greeted with a rousing heer from the | throats of a couple of hundred Tempe
 men and women who had gathered to welcome them. A dozen automo- piles were at the crossing and as soon as it was learned that the stay fin | Tempe would be of only a half hour | or so, those of the visitors who cared too. took machines and were escort l ed to the Normal and about the resi- dence section of town while others | of the party devoted their time to call | ing upon the business men. The cen | tral point was naturally the Casa I,oma where visitors and resident alike gathered. The hotel had been neatly decorated for the occasion and ! a large double banner had been strung across the street by the Board of Trade, bearing the wording. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Vel come to Tempe" As fast as one load of the visitors had been shown the Normal. another one was taken by the different autos and 1t is remarkable
 how much was accomplished in so short a time.
 The circumstances which made the entertainment here so slight was eX plained to the visitors and it was easy to see that they were as much disappointed at the mix up of plans as were the citizens. were sought for eagerly The recep- ton committee badges were given away. so far as they went and book lets printed by the Board of Trade quickly grabbed up. While waiting for the train to arrive. MT. Cook pressed into service a couple of paint CTS. They quickly turned out