The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-01-08

Governor Alexander del1V red his
mess zee to the legislature on Tues
day, which consisted of about $4,000
words, covering more than 40 SUBJ
jects.
The watchword of retrenchment
and cutting down of expenses was
apparent throughout, and he scored
the officials who have been in the
habit of having their relatives ap-
pointed to clerkships and other sub
ordinate positions and by that means
building up an aristocracy of office
holders. He scores the management
of the state land department for ex-
travagance and expanding the trust
fund of the Carey Act for purposes
not warranted by the law. We quote
him in full on this subject:
The States Board of Land Commits
siOners
There is in the state of Idaho a de-
,partment known as the state board of
land commissioners, being the board
that has in charge the land depart
ment OF the state as we'll as the
Carey act fund.
/. The state board of land commits
sioners received the following appro-
priations for the years 1913-1914:
For salaries, $22,560.0O; office ex-
penses and printing, $2,S45.0O; sal
aries of field agents, $27,44O.0O; ex-
penses of advertising and printing.
$lO,155.OO; legal fees, $4,000. 90;
care of state lands, $4,000. 90; tim
Der fire protection, $50, 900. 90; total,
,$122.OOO.00. There was also ex-
pended from the Carey act trust fund
by the state land department $145.-
1885, for a period beginning on
January l, 1918, and extending to
December /, 1914, making a total
for both the Carey act and land de-
partment, of $267,588.35.
These two departments are So
closely allied that it is hard to draw
any distinction Some of the en-
ployes in one department receive mart
OF their salaries from the Carey act
department and part from the land
department. There is a distinction
without difference in some of the
workings of these two departments
There are entirely too many en-
ployes in the state land department
and the Carey act department. In
both OF these departments there were
employed during some months of the
year from SO to so people, drawing
salaries OF from SO per month to
Sz9l per month. There is no neces-
sity for SO many chiefs in the various
departments.
me Carey act money is derived
from the sale of lands and is in
reality, a trust fund that is only to
De used for the reclamation of other
desert lands in our state. From the
best information obtainable there has
2een collected on behalf of the Carev
act trrst fund by the state in nra-
ceding years the round sum of s4OO
ooo. 1t may even exceed this
amount. The Carey act trust fund
mad on hand December 1, 1914. S.
l44'53. I think | am warranted in
saying that on January 1, 1915 there
absolutely no money in the Carev
act trust fund. There has been spent
out of this one fund from January I
1914 to January 1, 1915, over $151.-
900.
The funds known as the Carey act
trust fund are gone. There is MOTH
ing to show for them except the $40
wv which was paid for the King
Hill irrigation project. There will
De barely any money from now on
coming into this Carey act trust
luhd' Its approximate receipts for
the' year 1915 will hardly exceed
szo'ooo. We are facing condition
tilat would seem to require the best
inlhos OF your honorable body to
solve.
III othel words, all payments on all
lands srld for Carey act purposes INV
the state, which amount to ovar
100000 have been frittered awav
Today the treasury is depleted. the
iand are sold; what is left NAV he
lot of reports, blue prints and re-
celpts for official salaries. This con-
dition of affairs is indeed deplorable
IL calls for the closest investigation
by your body to find out where this
vast sum of money has gone
How easy 1t has been to spend this
money in the Carey act trust fund
Inc expenditure of this money has
oeen so easy that even the state en-
sineer has claimed and exercised the
right to demand warrants to be
ura"n on said fund without the
action OF any board or any one audit
ing the same The idaa of +ha Ao;na~