The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-09-23
BIACKFOOT OPTIMIST is PESSI
MYSTIC

The Blackfoot Optimist which il
frequently accused of being a pessi
mist, and at times gives evidence o
being booster for revenue only
must feel great deal better since i
unloaded it's spleen last week upoI
the, city council and Chief Of Police
Hilliard.
1t berates the council for being in
competent, inconsistent and of bat
influence, and goes on to enumerate
its misdeeds saying they are wasting
the taxpayers money paying FOL
street crossings that are not properly
made, that it keeps men busy all the
time repairing them; that they passed
ordinances against gambling and
haven't the nerve to enforce them;
that the chief of police is drawing
salary as chief, and another salary az
sewer inspector and is so busy that
he does not do good police duty; that
the records show he has arrested only
three convicted prisoners since Feb
ruary; and some other tommyrot.
If the editor of The Optimist thinks
antigambling ordinances can be vio-
lated with impunity, let him operate
some gambling device and be seen
by any of the officers either of the
city or county, and he will probably
be arrested as promptly as he has
been on other occasions when he vio-
lated other ordinances and was taken
into custody, and the fact that it was
Chief Hilliard who made these arrests
probably accounts for the Crouch"
expressed in the article referred to.
Referring again to the matter of
tfakirs and gamblers on the street
during the fair, we announced last
week that at Tuesday evenings conn-
Gil meeting it was reported that
!, games of chance had been opened
that day on the street and that slot
machines had followed suit. The
chief of police was instructed to in
vestigate 1t and enforce the anti
gambling ordinance, and the next
morning everything was colsed that
was clearly a game of chance. One
fakir was fined ten dollars, and in
cases where there was doubt as to
whether or not there was violation of
the law they were permitted to 60 on
with the drawing, throwing or what
ever the game might be.
AS to the number of arrests and
convictions made in certain period, |
the records show that twenty arrests
were made in April, May and June, |
less than half the period he refers
to, and it is up to The Optimist writ
er to make another guess or quote
records correctly. OF course he wells
his statement rather ambigously in
this language, three convicted pris-
oners," and probably has some defin-
lite hole to crawl out at on account of
the use of convicted" But that is
not material; the fewer arrests made
the better, and If Hilliard can run the
town without any arrests it is well.
Men who were in town during the
fair remarked the absence of drunk
enness and disorder, and one volun-
tarily made the comment, INCEST,
most orderly town was ever in" and
that isn't bad considering how "dry"
1t is.
For the information of The Opti-
mist we will state that the cement
contractors doing work in Blackfoot
are thoroughly reliable, the one or
two who were otherwise, having been
forced out of business here because
members of the council did not hest
tate to state that they were Crook
ed" and their bids on city work
would no longer be considered. There
are two places in street crossings that
have broken, showing defective work
)r material, and these were promptly
lone over by the contractors without
any expense to the city. 1t is out
If this trivial affair that the state s
nent came, "Men are kept constant
y busy repairing" There have been
everal failures in cement walks, and
t is to the credit of the council that
zone of it was city work, individuals
'aying been "stung" on contracts for
ement work, some of which has been
one over and some more will be. The I
ry that the city council hired car 8
lagos at Gibbs barn some months
go to 'cruise" the alleys on matters
ertaining to sanitation, is not so
errible when It is known that Mr..
ibis livery bill against the city for
ne season was only $50. So If t