Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1913-01-30
A coRREc
Editor Enterprise;

Editor Enterprise;
County Commissioner Blair chal
Ilenges the accuracy of the figures
in my communication to the Enter
prise last week so far as they per
tain to Payette and Nampa. He says
the Payette bill should be $4,000 ane
the Nampa bill $500. l do not
know how the error occurred for
took the footings from the original
bills in the files in the Auditors Of
flee and | had the assistance OF
one of the office employees. But
gladly make this correction on the
authority of the commissioner Tor
he is certainly in position to
know, and it is the truth we want
to know. Eyery~tax payer feels like
looking around for the leak that
seems to be wasting our means.
$4,000 seems like a big county doc
tor bill for Payette, in one quarter,
and especially does it seem big
compared to Nampa's bill of only
$500 AS l stated last week the
cost of quarantining case of con-
tagious disease is $1.00 for quaran-
tine, $1.00 for diagnosing and then
$500 for fumigating (including ma
teriaD and mileage at SOC per mile,
making a total cost of about $1,000.
Why would it not be practical for
the board of health to furnish every
practicing physician with notices and
require him to quarantine all cases
of contagious disease that comes to
his practice, and see that proper dum-
igating is done at the close of the
quarantine period? The family of
the writer was quarantined for dip
iberia and we did our own fumigating
at a cost of one half dollar. The
work was thorough and effective.
Why should the county pay $7.C0 for
what the family can do for itself for
soc?
But now here are some more fig
ures. (This cold weather is good
time to figure.) l have heard some
pretty extravagant statements about
the cost and uselessness of our pro-
baton officer. Some have declared
the office costs the county SIS, 900. 90
a year. Well l have tried to find
out the facts and here they are. For
the last fiscal year the cost of the
probation officer including salary,
travelling expenses, care of delinquent
children while in his care and every
item of expense connected with the
office, was s1S22.60. The average for
the last five years is s1734.3S. That
is quite a bit less than what l have
heard talked, but the question still
remains, is the office worth what
it costs? This article is growing
too long but want to give you
some figures on the cost of elections.
We have four precincts in ayette.
In each precinct are employed six
judges and five clerks at $500 per
day and one constable at $500 per
day, and they are all generally al
lowed pay for two days except one
clerk, making the expense foreach
precinct for the election $4,000 or
$4,000 for the four precincts. This
amount will have to be doubled to
cover the primary election making
$4,000. To this add $4,000 or
registers fees and you have $4,000.
Now if you add the cost of material,
booths and rent of rooms etc., the
expense will reach $1,000 or about
one dollar per vote for all the votes
cast in Payette. l think that is
about 100000 more than it ought to
cost. If clerks were paid 25c per hour
and the judges served without pay |
We would have more efficient cleo
ion boards than we have now The
school district covers the same ter
.itory and includes the same peo-
lie, except little strip lying south
If the river, and the school cleo
ion is held for $500. 1 have some
'ther interesting figures but the
waste basket looms up and l desist
or the present.
ID. w. AINEY.