Oral Histories

Interview of William Jarvis Carr

California senator from 1913 to 1923 and city attorney for Pasadena.
Subtitle:
The Memoirs of William Jarvis Carr
Series:
Z: Orphan Interviews pre 1999
Topic:
Politics and Government
Biographical Note:
California senator from 1913 to 1923 and city attorney for Pasadena.
Interviewer:
Nunis, Doyce B. Jr
Interviewee:
Carr, William Jarvis
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Interviewee Retained Copyright
Abstract:
Family background; father's arrival in San Francisco during gold rush and subsequent return to Illinois; education at West Aurora High School and University of Wisconsin; history courses from Frederick Jackson Turner; early civil service and legal careers in the Philippines, 1903-7; return to United States; private law practice and tenure as city attorney of Pasadena, 1907-13; politics in California; struggles against dominance of Southern Pacific Railroad Company; Francis J. Heney and "Graft Prosecutions"; Governor Hiram W. Johnson, Lincoln-Roosevelt League, and Progressive Party; experiences as state senator representing Thirty-sixth District, 1913-23; member of California Railroad Commission; active support of Progressive movement in California; Johnson's years in office; William D. Stephens era; C. C. Young and Friend Richardson administrations; public utilities, Herbert Hoover, Duff Carpenter, and Boulder Canyon project; tribute to wife Mary Huntington Carr.