Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1915-12-04
HOW MUCH TIMBER
HAS ELMORE CO.?

Inere mas Deen runlOr CURRENT lol
the past few days to the effect that
some of Elmore County's Officials
were taken at private expense to
Idaho City, in the interest of having
the timber in Elmere County "Nease
Cruised.'
In view of the fact that the rumor
persists in not being downed, we be-
lieve that the following from the
Clearwater Republican of November
2Sth might be read with profit by the
taxpayers of the County.
climber Cruise Looks Like Rank
Graft"
The above heading appeared in
the Clearwater Republican i'm it's issue
of February 27, 1916 At the time
the Nease cruise was being imposed
on the people of Clearwater county
the Clearwater Republican, among
other things, raised two objections:
First. That the cruise, IL of any
value, would necessitate the heavy
annual expense of re-cruise, or re-
checking, every year.
Second That the Nease cruise
might be but another crooked scheme
to skin the people; that the people
had no way of knowing whether the
proposed cruise was good or bad, cor
rect or inaccurate; that it would be
an easy matter, If Nease were crooked
for him to do this county immense
damage by overestimating one owner
and Understanding another body of
timber. And if any were so dis
posed; If timber owners, immensely
interested in having low estimate
OF their holdings came across, what
might happen were it made an OBJ
ject for Nease to favor those willing
to make it am object for Nease to
Find considerably less; yes, millions
less, timber than an honest cruise
would show? The Republican warm
ed the people that they had no pro-
tection; that their interests were in
jeopardy; that the proposed cruise
would be of doubtful value. We
warned the people that the Timber
Crrlica 7 1zc II e.
Information coming to the Republi-
can recently iustifies all former sus-
picions.
The Nease cruise is rotten and
worthless as a basis for the assess
ment of timber. One need 90 mol
farther than 38-3 Here it is said
that the Nease cruise shows but a
small fraction of the actual timber,
possibly only 20 per cent of the act
ual value in some instances.
The records show that Neasel
turned in cruises on government
land, not subject to taxation, but
which the former county board, Messrs
Frank Zelenka, Elmer Torgerson and
Frank Harrison, accepted and paid fer
at the rate of 1914 cents an acre.
These things are enough to warrant
suspicion. Add to this the fact, if |
we are to believe the statements of
reliable parties, that the Nease
cruisers went only once through a
forty, and sometimes turned i'm as
much as IA forties per day, an i'm
possible area for any cruiser. We
would then ask the people what they
think of the Nease cruise as basis
for taxation purposes?
In view of these things, the peo-
pie should do one of two things:
First: Abandon the Nease cruise
altogether, and go back to the old
system for assessment purpose, or
Second: Retain the Nease cruise,
but re-cruise the 100000 acres, or
OhCuSil vi NJ uO elo0ulC
Enough is known to Justify the
county authorities in refusing to use
this cruise as a. basis for assessing
the county in 1916. This cruise is
the most colossal outrage ever per-
petrated on a. people in any county in
the state of Idaho since time began.
1t offered the most fertile field for
graft of any deal Clearwater has had
to face. The people may draw their
own conclusions as to what might
have happened, if Nease overlooked as
much as 80 per cent of white pine
and other timber in some localities.
What object would it be for Nease
cruisers to report only a hundred
thousand of white pine per forty if
there is really more than four times
that amount?
Another question: Why was that
suit, started by the timber companies,
against Nease cruise so suddenly
dropped?