American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1913-06-12
SENATOR DAVIS
MAKES BIG HIT
PROPOSES ESTABLISHING FUND
FOR PAYING ALL EX-
PENSES OF STATE
NO STATE TAX In IDAHO
Urges Sale of State Lands at
More Rapid Ratio Per Year. His
Proposition Makes Profound Inn
preston on Bankers.

Senator D. w. Davis, presiden
of the First National Bank of
American Falls, in an address before
the State Banks assoc 'aticn, pre-
sented argument showing that by
proper disposition of the states re-
sources, fund could be created,
the income from which would make
Idaho a nO-tax state inasmuch as
that income would bear all public
expense of every kind. His address
was listened to with marked at
tention because of the startling ar
ray of figures presented by him to
establish his claim.
After showing what has been dona
in the American Falls section by
reason of the development of the
dry farming industry and after de-
failing the demand that exists for
land, Senator Davis took up the real
subject of his address. He said:
Our Government, municipal,
county and state is costing too much
money per capita. We need five
million people instead of few hun
dred thousand that we now have
The way to get these people is to
see that every citizen is paying his
full and just share of the cost of
administration, but see that that
share is N keeping with what he
has. Our state will be great in pro-
portion to our law enforcement.
Give me community of satisfied
people and | will show you a COM
munity of happy citizens, who win
write to their former friends and
neighbors about their new found
home. good family letter from
farmers to farmers will bring better
results than all the fine illustrated
literature that money can buy
Il feel confident that the tax
commission that has just recently
been appointed. will make recon-
mendations to the next legislature
that will bring about some relief to
the farmers of this state | also
hope they will hake them ready to
present to that body for considera-
ton at an early date, and not wait
till the closing days of the session,
as was the case with the present
revenue law, thereby making pro-
per consideration by the legisla-
ture impossible At this point |
want to say that the most import
ant question to come before the
people of this state is the applica-
ton of modern business methods to
the handling of it's resources.
Constitution Needs Amendment
I'VE have outgrown our constitu-
ton in this respect. 1t must be
amended so as to permit the most
rapid sales possible, of our state
lands. We have 2,934,000 acres
unsold. Under the present law we
are allowed to sell 25 sections or
$4,000 acres per annum. This
amount Is only a small part of
what Is applied for each year. At
this rate, it will take us 1873 1-3
years to dispose of our holdings. Wei
have considerable state land tribu-
tary to American Falls; advertise
this we'll, and you can sell every
acre at one sale. Youwill find peo-
pile who oppose this plan, and say
you are robbing my children and
my children's children of the op-
portunity to buy piece of state
land, thereby depriving our poster
ity of the protection that our con-
stitution now gives them.
'The plan that / recommend to
you. gentlemen, will not only help
one man in thousand or ten thous-l
and depending on our population.
as will be the case if we stretch
the sale of this amid over centuries
of time, but will bring an annual
relief to every tax payer within our
borders. When our financiers of
ability organize a financial inst1tu-
ton, they incorporate for, we Will
shS ten million dollars, then they
take great care not to pay out all
their earnings in dividends, but
they add substantial amount each |
year to surplus, thereby multiply
ing their earning capacity. In con-
Sulting the record of such inst1tu-
tions. in a much shorter time than
the business experience of most of
us. you will find In their state
ments, capital. surplus and uni