The daily star-mirror., 1915-01-06
WOULD DO Always.
WITH NEPOTlSM
ALEXANDER SAYS PRACTICE HAS
GROWN so THAT ARISTOC-
RACY EXISTS

Would Also Abolish Boards and Con-
sOlidate Various De-
partments
! (The Governors Message Continued
From Yesterdays Star-Mirror)
No public officer, beginning with
the governors office and ending with
a road overseer, should be allowed to
practice nepOtism. In other words, to
employ any Of his family or relatives,
either by marriage or by blood in any
department of the state, county, mu-
n1cipal1ty or school district, nor en-
ploy such an one by virtue of being
member of any board organized un-
der the laws of the state This prac-
/ tice has grown to such an extent that
there is today in all the state, Idaho
not excepted, sort of an aristocracy
OF office holders, a close corporation
of families to spend the public money.
They keep everything to themselves
Publicity is the order of the day and
not secrecy. For person elected or
appointed to an office, who gets the !
election or appointment by merit and
competency, the compensation is usu-
ally enough to support himself and |
family. The people should not be taxed /
to support any other members of the I
family than the one SO appointed or
most vicious that has crept into our
public affairs. 1t ought to be prohibit
ed and a severe penalty, by the loss
of office, attached to the violation
thereof. | cannot condemn this prac-
tice too strongly. l hope you will al
low nothing to interfere with the per-
Torrance of your duty to bring about
this reform 1t has so demoralized
our body polite that the people de-
mand the absolute prohibition of it in
our public affairs.
State Bonds
session of the legislature for any pur-
pose. The present state of the money
market precludes the possibility of
floating any bonds at any reasonable 2
rate of interest The City of New York, {
the largest city in the United States, {
for its renewal of maturity obligations i
had to pay six per cent. What Ida
no would have to pay is easily sur /
missed 1t is better to wait year or 8
two than to handicap posterity. +
Fewer Offices
There are some things that the
state can get along better without than
with. One of these is the immigration .
This office should be =
abolished. Another is the tax commits :
sion This commission ought to be .
abolished on account of it's uselessness. .
md since by the decision of the SUI
)reme court of the state it has been
horn of a great deal of the power del
gated to it by the legislature, it has
'utlived its usefulness. b
Fewer Boards ..
| also ask you to consider the aboli- fl
ion of many of the boards that have b,
cen created-for what purpose, it is Ii
ard to imagine. To create boards to W
e appointed by the governor and to al :
ow these boards to draw certain q
mount Of money for attendance and
raveling expenses is useless. The gov
rnor appoints them and largely in
uences them in their decision as to
ne proper persons to be appointed by +
lem and in their general conduct
hey are simply a buffer between the r
xecutive and the people. They remove :.
le government of the people farther
'om them than il these boards did not .
sist.
One of the most important offices r
ithin the gift of the appointive power
the bank examiner. Another is the
ate engineer These offices are di-
,ctly responsible to the executive. l
,e no reason why the same rules
lould not prevail in the other depart
ents. Efficiency is what is wanted 2
i'd the closer the instrument to be
,ed is to the one using it, the less q
aste there will be. Abolish useless Il
'ards wherever they exist. Economy
ould be the watchword in every de- +
Irtment OF the state. Place the re-
onsibility On the one directly re- II
onsible.
In some instances consolidation of 4
e various departments would be BEN L
cial in the administration of the
ate's business. I will cite you to A r.
" departments that will do better
rvice if consolidated with one an
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