Every state gets two statues to display at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Utah’s are Brigham Young, who you’ve heard of, and Philo Farnsworth, an early television pioneer, who you might not have heard of.That’s why Republican state Sen. Todd Weiler thinks it’s time to retire the Farnsworth statue and replace him with another Utah trailblazer.
“For me, it’s not about Philo, it’s about Martha,” he says.
That Martha he’s referring to is Martha Hughes Cannon, a turn-of-the-century Utahn who was the first woman to serve in a state senate. A physician, she also founded Utah's health department and wrote many of the state’s early sanitation laws.
“Even though she was a polygamist, she was a feminist of her day," says Weiler. "And she actually traveled to Chicago and some other conferences, I believe on behalf of the LDS Church, and defended, in an academic way, polygamy as a feminist right. ....She’s very intriguing, interesting person.”
Weiler is sponsoring a bill next session — first proposed by former Rep. Adam Gardiner who left the legislature — to switch out Philo Farnsworth for Martha Hughes Cannon.
He says Utah wouldn’t be the first state to do a swap — California switched out one of theirs for Ronald Reagan in 2009 —and the timing’s right.
“There’s been a big push in Utah over the past several years to get more women to run for political office,” he says. “And here’s a woman who ran for political office and beat her own husband 120 years ago.”
Weiler won’t be asking taxpayers to foot the cost of a new bronze, either. If the bill passes, he says he’d work with community groups to raise money to fund the artwork and transportation to deliver Martha Hughes Cannon to Washington.
An informal Twitter poll conducted by Weiler last week showed broad support for the idea, at least initially. He says he's yet to receive any pushback from other colleagues or the public.
Results are in! #utpol pic.twitter.com/oARNlEQYDe
— Todd Weiler (@gopTODD) November 22, 2017
