PLANT CONTROL INSPECTION

JULY, 1937 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS The Why's and Where-fore's of Arizona's Border Agricultural Stations

It is evident that they are not held up very long.

By far the greatest percentage of tourists are pleasant with the inspectors and try to cooperate as well as they are able. Many enjoy the opportunity of relaxing during these brief stops. Many are familiar with the work that is being done and are pleased to assist the inspector in every way. Others are glad of a chance to obtain useful road information or other information about Arizona, all of which the inspectors are glad to furnish. I do not believe that the officers have difficulty with more than one per cent of the tourists passing through the stations.

Daily I enjoy the contacts I make at my stations. I very often meet people Whom I regret that I cannot know better. There are sweet, elderly couples who have reared their families and are now enjoying their later years in travel. There are jubilant young honeymooners with rice sprinkled copiously about their cars. There are representative American families on vacation who are interested in everything that is going on, and ask friendly (if sometimes foolish) questions. There is every type of individual to be found in these United States and I welcome the constant opportunities to study them. I welcome the chances to tell them about our beautiful state whenever time permits. It is my opinion that Arizona is the finest place in the world to live and I want every tourist who comes here to find it out as soon as possible.

I certainly enjoyed being on duty when Judge Landis came through. There is a gentleman. He very courteously asked about our work and readily cooperated in what little inspection was necessary in his car. His whole personality radiated good humor. And I shall not soon forget Captain Billy (of "Whiz Bang" fame) and his fine family. I never enjoyed meeting anyone more than I did them. Then there was Tom Mix, "Pie" Traynor, the baseball player, and several of the world's greatest golfers moving from one tournament to another. All were gentlemen. There are very few of the other sort perhaps just enough to make me better appreciate the agreeable ones.

And I am not disturbed too much now by the disagreeable ones. When I went into this service eight years ago the occasional anti-social fellow would quite upset me. I had never been around people who told me just what they thought of me, who told me that the work I was doing was a lot of hooey, who even called me very profane names because I was doing the work which my superiors had given me to do. I usually kept my temper but the nervous strain I underwent in doing so would sometimes make me sick at the stomach. But as time went on it became increasingly evident to me that there would always be a few of this type of individual. No end of kind treatment could appease them but getting hard-boiled with them only made matters worse. The best thing to do, I found, was to inspect their cars as swiftly as possible, ignore their insulting remarks, and pass them on their way. There were, of course, times when I had to be firm. I had to confiscate their infested fruit whether or not it met with their approval. Some refused to submit their cars for inspection at all and I had to let them wait until they became willing. But I have learned to control my emotions very well by now and I am seldom upset by even the most irascible individuals.

But why do they act as they do? What do they gain by it? Can it be that they get some kind of bestial pleasure out of bickering with their fellow-men? Perhaps they believe they are commanding admiration when they tell their friends (if they have any), "I sure told that inspector plenty and he took it all without saying a word." As I have said, we are instructed to inspect every car, but naturally we are allowed to use our own judgment as to how thoroughly we think a car should be inspected. If a tourist is disagreeable he certainly does not convey to us the impression that he is carrying no contraband. Though we inspect

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