Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1912-10-10

cYAase or $ooU,UUuL LHe AseHs eohSu
tuting this increase had been SO ar
ranged that they cauld not be stricken
out. in their entirety without impairing
the. public service. considered long
as to my duty in the premises and fl
nallY conceived the. idea after careful
deliBeration that i sould scale the ap-
Precipitation for varisus. objects and
bring the bill down, to point where
the taxes necessarily incurred by reason
of it would be so oppressive upon our
people as to render them absolutely un-
bearaile. l struck off from these ap-
preparations by this sealing process the
sum of $685., 900 which, was saved to the
state. Instead of commentator for
this course, it was candemned almost
universally in the sevenst: terms by the
republican press of theestate, but events
have aEown the wisdom of my course.
Roads and Convict Labor.
"Abng the lines Of state develop
ment and in accord with the most ad-
vancea ideas of prison reform as put
in opezatiOn in some of cur sister states,
1 favor. a comprehensive, state wagon
road system, and the employment of
convict labor in the construction there
Of.
eve have in the state penitentiary
at Bose at the present. time nearly 300
convicts. Under the constitution we
are prohibited from working these men
except on state work. believe we
should have a state wagon road system
| in Idaho. A north and south road could
be built, of which the. road have men,
toned would be part, and an east and
west road could likewise be construct
ed.
"While it is against our policy to
interfere in any way with free labor;
while / would not for one moment
change the salutary rule of the consti-
tuition, I do insist that the time has
come, aye, that it came two decades
ago, when these men should have en-
ployment provided for them that would
not interfere with the free labor of the
state in any respect but would insure
enough profit from their labor to pay
the expenses of the institution. We
can use as | have demonstrated con-
siderable number of these people in the
construction of state wagon road sys
| TEN.
Sale of School Lands
"The national government was most
generous to Idaho in the matter of land
grants for public school purposes, three
million acres of the public domain being
so set aside by the Admission act, com
prised in sections l6 and 36 in every
| township. And I desire at this time
to congratulate the people of Idaho
upon the wisdom and patriotism of the
trainers of the state constitution, who
embodied in that instrument clause
fixing minimum price of $40 per acre
for this land and that all sales must be
ny puDllc auction.
| 'There is restriction, however,
that, wise as it may have been in the
first instance, is now working hard
ship upon the people. The state land
board, which has control of this land
and can rent or sell, is prohibited from
disposing of more than 25 sections in
one year. This is wrong in principle
and is injurious in its operation to the
best interests of the state. / concede
that If lands are retained for a long
period OF years they may increase in
price and the school fund become aug
mented, but what we want in Idaho
now is improvement of our lands. we
need small holdings and intensive cult
walton.
Special Agents and Prosecutors.
In this connection l may also call
your attention to the fact that for near
~ seven years the people of Idaho have
been harassed by special agents of the
interior department and by special pros
ecutors appointed by the attorney gen
eral, and things have come to such a
pass that until the last few months a
citizen seeking to make home could
not perfect his title to government
land without being confronted in the
land office by an over-zealous special
agent OF the interior department. who
considered it his duty to find reasons
Tor preventing the settler from acquir-
ing title instead of assisting him in Sc
curing 1T, In our mining sections these
same special agents seemingly consid-
cred it their business to prevent indi.
vlduals or companies from obtaining
the ultimate title to mining ground.
'"'r people have ,.aen la,ussed and on
pressed in this way almost past endur.
ance. Not only have they suffered from
the prosecutions of these special agents
but the ATTORNEY Ooporo1 o-.,