News 8 Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014
Register
1
POLITICS
2 GOLDEN STATE
POLITICAL BATTLES
This week marks the anniversary of two important political movements in
the history of California politics. Both aimed to address the plight of people
affected by the Great Depression. And both were smacked down by voters.
BY
CHARLES
APPLE
FOCUS PAGE
EDITOR
1934
1939
80
YEARS
AGO
TODAY
75
YEARS
AGO
FRIDAY
UPTON SINCLAIR
HAM AND EGGS
AND HIS EPIC CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR
A PLAN TO GIVE THE ELDERLY $30 A WEEK
THE SITUATION
It was the height of the Great Depression. California was deep in debt, its annual budget
deficit growing deeper as tax revenue dried up and the number of unemployed soared past
three-quarters of a million people.
THE SITUATION
Five years later, the Depression still affected the U.S. and California. Feeling the effects
particularly hard were those too young to retire but too old to get hired for the few,
low-paying jobs that might be available.
In the wake of Sinclair’s EPIC campaign, a number of other populist movements sprang up
around the nation. One local proposal was the 30-Thursday crusade — better known in
California as Ham and Eggs.
THE PLAYER
Enter self-proclaimed Socialist
and novelist Upton Sinclair,
famous for his 1906 novel “The
Jungle,” which addressed
abuses in the meat-packing
industry, and for his scathing
take on the state of American
journalism with “The Brass
Check” in 1919.
THE PLAYERS
What became the Ham and Eggs proposal started in 1937 with a
proposal by radio commentator Robert Noble to pay residents
60 and older $200 a month. The idea was picked up by advertising men Willis and Lawrence Allen, who owned a radio station in
Mexico with a strong signal to much of Southern California.
In 1933, the 55-year-old Sinclair
parted with the Socialist party,
registered as a Democrat and
declared his candidacy for
governor.
Willis Allen
THE PITCH
Sinclair apparently believed in
capitalizing on what he was
best at: writing. At the core of
his campaign strategy was
driving around the state,
distributing copies of a 63-page
“booklet” called “I, Governor of
California, and How I Ended
Poverty: A True Story of the
Future,” which outlined his
platform.
THE PITCH
The idea was to give everyone in the state age 50 or over a $30 weekly pension. The
catch: If they didn’t spend it by the next Thursday — payments were to be made on
Thursday, hence the name “30-Thursday” — the recipient would have to pay a two-cent
tax per dollar.
Sinclair may have left Socialism behind in name,
me, but
his program was clearly — and proudly — socialistic.
stic. He
proposed the state government take over the idle
factories and farms and create enormous collectives
ectives
that would aim not to turn a profit, but to put people
and equipment to work.
The effect would have been to boost the economy by putting money into circulation —
what we today might call a stimulus plan. The Allens collected donations and put more
than a half-million dollars into a massive media campaign that included populist rallies,
traveling circuses, radio broadcasts and a national newsletter.
He called the plan EPIC: End Poverty in California,
ia, and,
sure enough, Sinclair developed a large following
ing
among the state’s poor and unemployed. More than
800 EPIC clubs sprang up around the Golden State
tate as
Sinclair sailed through the Democratic primary in
August by a convincing margin.
THE BACKLASH
The 1938 ballot measure, Proposition 25, had been openly supported by Democratic Gov.
Culbert Olsen — and was narrowly defeated. This time around, however, Olsen was
considerably less supportive.
THE BACKLASH
Not surprisingly, the state’s industrial and agricultural
icultural interests were not impressed. A
major — and well-funded — campaign was assembled
mbled to counter Sinclair’s ideas and to push
Republican nominee Frank Merriam, who had become governor in June 1934 after the death
of James Rolph. Among Merriam’s most ardent supporters were San Francisco Chronicle
publisher William Randolph Hearst and Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler.
THE RESULT
Despite the national attention given to his
campaign, Sinclair captured only 38 percent of
the vote in the general election of Nov. 6, 1934.
Frank
Merriam
Sinclair’s EPIC movement was left
in control of California’s
Democratic party. The effects of
the hard left turn taken by the
Democrats in the summer of 1934
were felt for decades afterward.
Upton Sinclair
DEMOCRAT
REPUBLICAN
879,537 37.8%
1,138,629
48.9%
Raymond Haight
PROGRESSIVE
Others
8,773 0.4%
302,519 13.0%
After a Ham and Eggs ballot measure was defeated in the 1938
general election, San Diego-based activist Roger M. Coffin
became involved in a push to try again for Ham and Eggs in 1939
with a special election.
And Merriam? Faced with
enormous debt, the Republican
proposed a tax increase of more
than $100 million. His supporters
were outraged but reluctantly
went along with the plan.
Nevertheless, conservative politicians and businessmen geared up for the campaign. As
the date approached, municipal employees cranked up strong opposition to the measure
in San Diego. Coffin complained of personal harrassment and death threats at his home.
But opponents had their complaints as well. Ham and Eggs campaign workers around the
state were proved to have spotty personal and financial histories. One of the campaign’s
more prominent operatives, Walter L. Thornton, was found to have spent time in jail for
passing bad checks.
THE RESULT
Voters rejected the measure by
an even wider margin in the
special election of Nov. 7, 1939.
Against
1,933,557
66.06%
For
993,204
33.94%
Sources: Social Security Administration, The Social Welfare History Project, The Nation, The Journal of San Diego History, The University of Washington’s Pacific
Northwest Labor and Civil Rights Projects, The Literary Digest, PBS, “The Campaign of the Century: Upton Sinclair and the EPIC Movement in California” by Greg
Mitchell, “Old Age and Political Behavior: A Case Study” by Frank A. Pinner, The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, Encyclopedia.com, OurCampaigns.com
Coffin was accused but cleared of
campaign funding irregularities,
but his reputation damaged and
unable to find work, he left San
Diego.
In 1942, the 30-Thursday movement
made one final attempt to put its
proposal onto the California ballot.
But the secretary of state’s office
disqualified thousands of petition
signatures, finally scrambling Ham
and Eggs for good.
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